The Dragon Phoenix
by Anika Noni Rose
Summary: Re-upload of the original story by Takara Ravenheart. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

**_Hello! So this isn't my story and as some of you may remember is a story that Takara Ravenheart uploaded and then took down a long time ago. I was lucky enough to get a copy of this story a while back from her for another side story that will be up soon. The O/A/N stands for Original Authers Notes which are Takara's exact words and the story hasn't been modified in the slightest, promise. It will be updated weekly along with the side story so that it has a steady upload. So in dedication of her here is my surprise for her (SURPRISE TAKARA!) and the re-upload of The Dragon Phoenix. Enjoy and don't forget to review ^^_**

 _O/A/N:_ _So this is my first fanfic and this is a major warning but it contains dark themes and may put the characters in situations you haven't imagined them to be in before. It also attempts to remedy the plotholes from Xros Hunters and to a lesser degree Xros Wars._

Chapter 1: Destiny

Desires and curiousity can get the best of anyone but depending on who said person is, the consequences can worry. This story begins with three researchers who loved to experiment on different creatures. These three scientists Taiko, Kurou and Kaito have reached a block in their research and this frustrates the youngest of them, Kaito. Repetition of the same experiments has become rather boring for her and one day, when she is awake attempting to find something new. A white jacket around her shoulders, her long ebony black hair curled up into a bun to prevent them from getting in the way as her eyes gaze curiously at the objects she holds in the laboratory. She lets out a groan of frustration as she scrunches up a piece of paper, throwing it towards the bin.

"This is...ridiculous!" Kaito growled, her eyebrows bent outlining the irritation on her features. Before she could ponder much more however, a dark purple aura seemed to fill the room. Her blue eyes widened and despite the fact that she had no idea what was happening, she took a step forward.

"Whose there?" The black-haired woman demanded to know. The purple aura then vanished leaving two creatures standing there. One looked like a dark knight, metallic armor covering his body while the other looked like a cross between a beast and a man with one eye a strange red color. The woman let out a cry of alarm but the dark knight quickly spoke.

"You don't have to be afraid of us." The dark knight quickly explained and while Kaito still didn't trust these creatures, she quietened down watching them warily.

"Who are you?" Kaito inquired curiously. "Why have you come here? What do you want with me?"

The creature that looked to be half-human, half-beast spoke up in order to answer her question.

"We want to make you an offer." He spoke and before the woman could say anything he continued. "Experimenting and designing the same stuff won't allow you to move forward. We have new equipment you can design, new things you can make, new prospects you can look at."

Kaito frowned, a mixture of puzzlement and wonder drawn onto her. A part of her just wanted to move forward and accept the offer being provided to her but another part of her was hesitant to accept it.

"What's the catch?" There was a suspicious tone to her voice and she didn't really trust these creatures.

"The only catch is you try them out on digimon in our world." The dark knight spoke inwardly hiding a smirk. "Even in that, you get benefited more as you will get new prospects for your future research."

The gears in Kaito's mind were turning and finally unable to resist the curiosity that pulled at her, she nodded.

"I'm willing to do this, what do I need to do?" The black-haired woman was eager to know even if her fellow researchers may or may not agree to this. It seemed too interesting to pass up. Neither of the others respond, but dark energy began to fill the room causing the other two researchers to run out. A short, blond-haired man with spectacles came out, his features formed into a frown, he was known as Taiko.

"Kaito, what's going on?" Taiko asked confused but before the black-haired woman could reply, her eyes glowed a dark red color. The other young man who had spiky red hair and green eyes was also confused but soon all confusion died away, as all three of them then seemed to lose conscious thought. A dark aura surrounded each of their bodies as the two creatures opened up a portal, pulling the three humans through it.

A dark laboratory appeared, with many strange equipment that had not been seen before and Kaito's eyes widened in glee before she realised something.

"You still haven't mentioned your names." The black-haired woman pointed out and this time the half-beast half-human creature spoke up.

"I am Bagramon and this is my brother DarkKnightmon." He introduced finally and Kaito simply nodded in agreement. The next few days were spent on making brand new inventions that would be launched on the digital world. One of the inventions made with Taiko's brains who was the smartest of the group could immobilise digimon rendering them unable to move while Kaito's invention would erase all past memories and make digimon like a puppet simply following orders without their own capabilities to think.

The next few days became chaotic for the digimon living there, innocent digimon were being immobilised and imprisoned by these three humans. When the king of the digital world, Shoutmon was informed of this, he arranged a meeting with Xros Heart in order to discuss what to do.

"Brother, what are we going to do?" Starmon queried. "We'll need our General's help!"

"We should investigate about what is happening first." Dorulumon put in, ever the cool, calm and collected logical thinker of the group. Cutemon frowned sadly, he hated to see anyone causing such pain and destruction.

"We have to go see if our friends are okay, kyu!" Cutemon cried worriedly. "Lunamon, and the people from Shoutmon's village, Lopmon, Coronamon and Spardamon, they're all our friends! I have to help them, kyu! Sitting around here is not getting us anywhere!" He then ran off, leaving the others bewildered and slightly surprised at the slightly reckless behavior however Dorulumon simply sighed, it was just like Cutemon unable to stand any suffering even if it got him hurt.

"I'll go after him." Dorulumon volunteered but Gumdramon spoke up.

"I'll come too, I wanna teach those guys a lesson!" Gumdramon cried eagerly and Shoutmon frowned a little, not wanting anyone to become seperated before shaking his head.

"Ballistamon and I will go with Dorulumon." Shoutmon finally conceded and quickly continued before Gumdramon could protest. "Gumdramon, Damemon if things turn out bad, I'll need you guys to come with me to the digital world to call Taiki and the others."

Damemon nodded in agreement, seeing sense in the plan.

"That's a good point." Damemon immediately agreed. "After all, if Gumdramon and I get caught it will be no good, no good at all because then we can't help you!"

Gumdramon huffed, crossing his arms and pouting, resembling like a little kid who had been refused to be given candy and sulked. The others had a point, but he wanted to get into the action. Shoutmon shook his head, slightly amused despite the dire situation that they were placed with. He and Ballistamon then left with Dorulumon to search for Cutemon which didn't take long to find with Cutemon screaming and running from the humans.

The pink bunny jumped latching himself onto Dorulumon who snarled protectively in defense of his best friend.

"Rock Damashi!" Shoutmon cried launching a fire blast at the human but it was blocked by a metal pole and the red dragon digimon frowned when he came face to face with DarkKnightmon. Shock was clearly depicted on his face and the same shock was reflected in the face of his three friends, although Ballistamon was still better at focusing and launched another attack towards DarkKnightmon.

"How can this be?" Shoutmon murmured to himself. They had defeated DarkKnightmon so how could he have returned? It looked like him and it couldn't be an imposter from what he had seen but then who? Dorulumon was also thinking the same thing, though his thoughts were more focused on the fact that they had to get Cutemon out of here before he got hurt. This was why he didn't see the blast headed his way until Ballistamon shouted out an unfortunately late warning. Dorulumon tried to dodge but the blast was too fast and cut through his skin causing him to growl as he collapsed.

"Kaito now!" An unrecognisable voice called over Cutemon's begging and failed attempts in trying to heal his friend. Of course, the pink bunny was trying his best but due to the panic he felt and the tears flowing freely from his eyes, made it hard for him to concentrate on healing his friend. Cutemon attempted to shield Dorulumon as the object hit them but once it did, the pink bunny found himself unable to move at all. It was as if someone had cast some sort of freezing spell and stilled them on the spot. He could hear Shoutmon calling out their names but couldn't respond, couldn't think it was like everything was frozen solid.

"Dorulumon! Cutemon!" Shoutmon cried running forward as DarkKnightmon imprisoned them in some sort of net. "Rock Damashi!" He consistently sent attacks towards the evil knight hoping to free his friends, but his attacks had no effect and he was sent flying back from an attack by DarkKnightmon and could only watch helplessly as his two close friends were taken away. He couldn't even hear the two trying to escape, they seemed completely still causing Shoutmon to clench his fists. How did this all end up happening? He had been so useless! More evil digimon began coming causing Shoutmon to turn to Ballistamon.

"Call all of Xros Heart on the wristers!" Shoutmon said urgently. "Damemon, Gumdramon and myself need to get to Taiki urgently. For one, Taiki won't want to be left out when one of his partners has been taken and we need help. You guys create a diversion so we can make our escape."

Ballistamon did so while Shoutmon attempted to the best of his ability to distract the assailants though it didn't help much since they were higher level digimon but luckily he didn't have to hold up long. As one blast was heading his way from a Devidramon, it was knocked aside by Gumdramon's tail as he and the others appeared. The other members began fighting while Shoutmon turned to Gumdramon and Damemon.

"We have to get...out of here...we need Taiki, Tagiru and Yuu's help now." Shoutmon said his voice weak but still firm with authority. With Gumdramon and Damemon supporting an injured and weak Shoutmon between them and the others distracting and holding off the battle, the three headed to find a digital portal to return to the real world, hoping for the best.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Special**

Taiki stood fretting with his tie, making sure it was in the right place. After glancing in the mirror for the third time, he brushed at his suit to remove any dust or hair that had collected on it. Seeing that his hair was still messy, he whipped out a comb and tried to keep it back. He didn't know why but he kept twiddling his fingers and looking at his watch. She had been his best friend since they were kids, so why was he so nervous? Or at least that's what he guessed it was. His fingers were trembling, he kept making sure his suit was right in every which way and that his hair didn't look so messy.

Tonight was a party that the Old Clockman had held for all the Hunters who had helped defeat Quartzmon and there was a dance as well. So, Taiki had decided to muster up the courage and ask Akari to be his lovely date for the night. That was all well and good, they had gone on a pretend date once before but that had been ruined by SuperStarmon. That had gone fine but this made his stomach squirm and a part of him felt as if saving the world had been so much easier than doing this.

He checked his watch again and decided it was time to get going.

"Feeling nervous?" A voice asked and Taiki blushed when he realised his mother had come inside the room. However, her warm smile made him forget how embarrassed he was and he returned the smile.

Mrs. Kudou ruffled her son's hair. She had seen Taiki and Akari grow up together, watching the close bond of the two of them blossom into a relationship. Her son could be rather protective over Akari and she smiled as Taiki flushed and moved aside, fixing his hair again.

"Taiki," Mrs. Kudou said with a laugh. "Akari will love the way you look, just because it's you."

Taiki smiled at this, his thoughts drifting back to the digital world. He remembered how Akari had gotten in the presence of Bastemon and definitely hated seeing her in Lillithmon's grip. Jumping out of the window to save her had been a reckless move but his body had moved, the only thought in his mind to protect her. He was glad she was safe and amongst them. He checked his watch and decided it was time to go.

"I better head out, Mom," Taiki waved goodbye his mother, before heading outside to take the car to Akari's house. Their family wasn't exactly rich. He was 19 after all and knew how to drive so it would be better to drive there. It looked better than taking a taxi.

Akari had never thought she'd ever get dolled up for anything considering she was a tomboy but this night was special. She had asked Nene to go shopping with her since she wasn't the greatest at what was in the latest fashion. If she looked at herself three years ago, she would have laughed at the idea of dressing up. But she wanted to look nice for Taiki.

After checking her hair for the fifth time, she realized Taiki had arrived and went to join him in the lounge where he was waiting for her. Goosebumps rose up her skin but she pushed it aside. This was her best childhood friend for god's sake! This shouldn't even be that hard! They had practically grown up together after all.

Taiki held out his arm. His eyes widened. He felt his breath catch in his throat and had to keep himself from flushing at the fact that she had done all this for him. For a moment, it was like the words had been caught in his throat. He knew he should say something but in this situation...it was hard to formulate what should be said. Tagiru would certainly make fun of him seeing him this starstruck and speechless in a sense.

"You look beautiful," Taiki finally said softly, a small smile gracing his features as Akari shuffled her feet and blushed before smiling at him.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Taiki," Akari replied, her heart fluttering at the compliment and the two got going. They arrived at the cruise party. Everyone was having a really good time.

Taiki hadn't seen everyone together like this for awhile. It was a welcome change to see everyone back together. He hid a smile as he saw Tagiru and Yuu bickering about something as per usual. It was almost amusing to show that hadn't changed.

Ryouma was off to the side, looking outside, his expression somewhat distant although he turned, seeing Taiki.

"Taiki-san," he greeted causing everyone to stop what they were doing. "It's good to see you."

Tagiru pulled away from Yuu, grumbling about him not understanding and his eyes lit up.

"Taiki-san!" Tagiru said running over and tackling his senior into an embrace causing him to break his linking with Akari. "It's been so long! I missed you! Where have you been busy? You totally forgot about Yuu and I since you graduated!"

"Tagiru!" Yuu scolded, exasperated with his best friend as usual. "Stop acting like a child and give Taiki-san a chance to breathe!"

Taiki laughed a little, returning the embrace. He had to admit he had kind of missed his juniors' bickering over the smallest things although he had gotten so busy with his first year of college that he hadn't gotten a chance to keep in touch. He and Akari attended the same college, despite doing different courses so she was really the only one he kept in touch with.

"Tagiru," Taiki responded warmly. "It's good to see you too. You too, Yuu. It has been awhile hasn't it?" He moved away from Tagiru to embrace Yuu as well.

Yuu laughed a little, returning the embrace of his mentor just as warmly. It was good to see him, although he didn't act as crazy as Tagiru did.

"Good thing we had the reunion party huh?" Yuu said lightheartedly. It hadn't been the same without Taiki. Their trio somehow felt rather incomplete without him to act as a buffer between him and Tagiru as well as just to bring a sense of normalcy to their group.

Airu smiled grabbing Yuu's hand.

"Yuu-kun and Tagiru were really missing you, Taiki-san!" Airu hollered happily. "Ne, you guys?"

Yuu laughed.

"I think Tagiru was a bit more excited," Yuu teased his best friend, nudging him playfully.

Taiki rolled his eyes, waiting for Tagiru to retort and the two to get into their usual bickering but was surprised when he didn't respond. He glanced at the other, noticing a puzzled expression on his face.

"Did...did you two come as a date?" Tagiru asked Yuu and Airu, looking at them, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

Yuu rolled his eyes.

"I told you that last night, Tagiru!" Yuu replied, exasperated. "When you hung up on me remember?"

"Hmmm yeah," Tagiru waved it off, almost dismissively. "Anyway, Taiki-san, Akari-san, why don't you guys get some food? You'll need the energy to woo Akari-san into the dance ne Taiki-san?" He put on his usual cheerful smile.

Taiki and Akari both blushed, glancing at one another before looking in seperate directions.

Kiriha laughed at this while Nene giggled. The two of them were holding hands and Nene winked at Akari as a sign of wishing her good luck.

"Go on, grab a bite and get ready to woo her," Nene said teasingly, giving Taiki a small smile causing him to flush further. He nodded however.

"Yeah..." Taiki finally replied, taking Akari's hand again, leading her inside towards the food, although glanced at Tagiru noticing he had gone strangely silent. "Something's wrong."

"What's wrong, Taiki?" Akari asked, pouring some drinks for the two of them handing one to him. "You're not nervous about the dance are you?" In truth, she was nervous. Even though her and Taiki had held one another and looked out for each other, dancing would include a different type of holding.

"A little," Taiki admitted, saying a half-truth although he smiled not wanting to worry her. Sometimes he tended to worry too much anyway. "But I'll make it the best dance I can, for you."

Akari felt her cheeks heat up. She knew her face was probably as red as her hair right now. Taiki could say these things with such a straight face and not be embarrassed, she wished she had that talent.

"Taiki..." Akari murmured.

Taiki put the drink down, taking Akari's hands into his own and looking into her eyes and leaning in close.

"Am I making you nervous?" Taiki murmured just below her ear, pushing a piece of her hair back.

Akari felt as if her breath had caught in her throat. Looking into Taiki's eyes, she felt as if she could just melt into that embrace. Was he making her nervous? Yes, but not necessary in a bad way. His breath tickled at her ear causing her heart to feel like it was beating at the speed of light. She hadn't really dated anyone before nor felt this warm around anyone.

"Yes," was all she managed to get out and even that came out so low that it would be a surprise if Taiki heard it.

"Akari," Taiki pulled away, albeit lifted the redhead's chin so she was looking in his eyes. "You're special to me. I want to make this night special for you. So...will you allow me a dance?" He backed away, bowing to her, kneeling down slightly and holding out his hand.

Akari smiled, the redness of her cheeks having toned down to a light pink and took his hand.

Taiki wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her into a dance. The two were so close that their bodies were almost touching.

Kiriha smiled, seeing Taiki and Akari dancing. He felt a little awkward. He wanted to ask Nene to dance but was unsure of how to. He wasn't as good as Taiki when it came to responding to emotional situations though and breathed out through his nose. Nene looked absolutely gorgeous the way she did and he wanted to make this night special for. Besides, it had been hard enough to get Yuu's approval, he wanted the night to at least be worth it.

"Kiriha-kun?" Nene said, a small smile gracing her features. She could tell he was flustered and to be honest, it made him kind of cute. Yuu's protective brotherly warning had made him nervous after all even though she knew her brother was in complete approval of her dating whoever she wanted. It was just his way of letting her and Kiriha know that he had her back.

"Yeah?" Kiriha replied. "Sorry I was just...I wondered...I mean..." He groaned, turning bright red. Why was this so hard? He had saved the world once before dammit! "Do you want to...dance with me?"

Nene giggled a little, seeing his face flush red.

"Of course," Nene assured him warmly. "You look kind of cute like that you know." She winked at him. "It's an expression I could get used to."

"N-Nene!" Kiriha felt even more flustered with how easy she took things although felt relieved when she agreed. He cleared his throat and like Taiki had, held out his hand towards Nene which the brunette took.

"That's so cute and romantic!" Airu squealed, gushing at how sweet the couple looked. "I'm surprised Tagiru isn't take the chance to embarrass them though, Yuu-kun."

Yuu laughed a little at his date's gushing and glanced over at Tagiru. He had gone rather quiet and seemed to be avoiding, since he had reminded him that he had brought Airu as his date to the night. Whatever could be wrong? He went over to his friend, who had a smile on his face as he watched Taiki and Akari.

"Tagiru, are you ok?" Yuu asked lightly. "I mean, I would've thought you'd be going crazy and embarrassing Taiki-san and all."

Tagiru glanced at Yuu for a moment.

"Your girlfriend can be crazy at times, you know," Tagiru sounded almost disheartened in a sense. "Why not get her to amuse you with her antics? I'm gonna get some onigiri." He went to the onigiri table, leaving Yuu looking even more confused.

As his friend to get the onigiri, Yuu glanced over at his sister and Kiriha dancing. He smiled. He could tell Kiriha cared about Nene a lot and hoped he could give her the happiness he deserved. Seeing that they seemed to be having a good time, the blond made to go after Tagiru but before he could do anything, there was a blast on the ship and Shoutmon, Gumdramon and Damemon came rolling in. Everyone was shouting in surprise at the fact that the Digimon King was there. Taiki and Akari looked alarmed at what they saw.

Shoutmon was bruised, a few scars and cuts down his metallic body and was being supported between Gumdramon and Damemon. His eyes were closed at the pain he was in.

"Taiki," Shoutmon began. "We need your help."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Believe**

Taiki stared, his stomach churning at his partner's condition. While there had been times his partner had been in a poor condition, he seemed really hurt. He was glad Damemon and Gumdramon were supporting his friend because otherwise he looked like he would just topple over any moment. Pushing aside his concerning thoughts, he knelt down besides his partner.

"Shoutmon," he breathed as Tagiru and Yuu rushed besides Gumdramon and Damemon.

"I-I'm fine," Shoutmon managed to mutter, managing a smile. "We got bigger problems to worry about. Dorulumon and Cutemon have been captured by this new enemy and they're in a lot of trouble. DarkKnightmon and Bagramon...they're back." He almost collapsed again but Gumdramon shifted back from Tagiru, catching the injured King.

"Ou-sama!" Gumdramon cried, concern clearly shown in his voice.

"'M fine," Shoutmon murmured. "Tagiru...Ballistamon said...he saw..."

Tagiru knelt by them.

"Don't try to talk, Shoutmon," Tagiru murmured, glancing at his mentor's concerned face anxiously.

"B-but..." Shoutmon protested, but Taiki ushered him to be silent this time.

"Tagiru, can you get some water?" Taiki asked. "Yuu, is there any food left? If so, get something small. Shoutmon needs to regain his strength."

Tagiru and Yuu both nodded, rushing off to get the food and drinks while Taiki got Shoutmon seated on the couch.

Tagiru poured a glass of water for Shoutmon whilst Yuu made to get the food.

"Tagiru, is everything ok?" Yuu asked. "You seemed down earlier so..."

Tagiru waved him off.

"We have bigger problems to worry about right now," he replied curtly causing Yuu to frown.

Yuu didn't understand his friend at times, even though he did have a point right now so he quickly followed with the food. Taiki had made his partner quite comfortable on the couch as the other two brought the food and water.

After a good rest and some food and water, Shoutmon seemed a little better.

"Now," Taiki said gently. "Since you can actually talk and everything, why don't you tell us what happened?"

Shoutmon smiled a little, although it quickly fell into a frown.

"Dorulumon and Cutemon were captured," he said, grimacing as he recollected the events. "I didn't understand...still don't why Dorulumon didn't fight back. It was almost like he were I dunno paralyzed or somethin cause he couldn't move at all."

Taiki had a sharp intake of breath at that. It wasn't like Dorulumon not to fight back so something must have been stopping him.

"Who's the new evil?" he asked, trying to take things one step at a time.

Shoutmon shook his head, sighing.

"DarkKnightmon's back," Shoutmon said, unsure of how to put that in a way that wasn't too blunt so he just went outright and said it. Oh well, he wasn't known for his tact after all.

Yuu felt himself freeze as DarkKnightmon was mentioned. His heart thudded in his chest and sweat began to develop in his palms. He opened his mouth to say something but the words got caught in his throat and he felt he couldn't speak.

"Yuu-kun?"

"Yuu?"

"Yuu, look at me."

Yuu snapped out of it to see Airu, Tagiru and Nene all looking at him in concern. Taiki glanced his way as well but felt he was well-taken care of right now.

"Are you okay, Yuu?" Tagiru asked, forgetting his earlier jealousy of Airu and Yuu being together. He knew about Yuu's past and didn't know if Airu did but he wanted Yuu to know he wasn't alone in this.

Yuu knew they were all trying to help but right now, he felt as if the walls were closing in on him and he had nowhere to go. It wasn't possible...DarkKnightmon couldn't be back, he just couldn't be. He knew he was acting suspicious, most of them didn't know the horrible deeds he had committed after all, but he didn't know how to deal with this. Glancing once at his sister, he ran outside. He needed the fresh air and even though it was a boat party, it felt like he was trapped in a room with no way out.

"It's not your fault, Yuu," The voice came from behind him and Yuu was surprised at who the owner of the voice was. He had expected it to be his sister or even Tagiru but it wasn't. He turned away again.

"I'm sure the digimon I've hurt won't agree with you, Taiki-san," Yuu choked out with a bitter laugh. They all made light out of it. It would be so much easier if they just hated him and cursed him for the things he had done. He felt Taiki's hand on his arm and looked up at him. "I don't get it sometimes...I tried to kill you, I hurt Neesan, yet you all...never had any resentment towards me?"

"Haven't you punished yourself enough?" Another voice said and Taiki and Yuu turned to see Tagiru standing there, a smile gracing his features.

"Tagiru..." Yuu murmured. "Thanks for not saying anything to Airu."

Tagiru shook his head.

"We're friends, Yuu," he replied simply. "We may still bicker over the stupidest things but I'm not about to go tell your secrets to the world."

Yuu sighed a little.

"Why do you forgive me though?" he asked quietly. "Because of me, Damemon died, I almost killed Neesan and Taiki-san, all because I thought everything was a game. And now he's come back." He laughed although the laugh was filled with sarcasm. "Who knows what he has up his sleeve this time?"

Taiki sighed a little before smiling.

"Tagiru just answered that," Taiki pointed out. "You blame yourself and punish yourself enough without us having to add to it." He paused for a moment. "Nene never gave up on you, Yuu. No matter how much it hurt her, she never gave up on you. So don't you give up on yourself."

"Taiki-san..." Yuu murmured softly, unshed tears brimming in his eyes.

"Cheer up, Yuu!" Tagiru said cheerfully, flinging an arm around his best friend's shoulders. "We all mess up, make mistakes, fall down and scrape our knees right? But no matter how bad the scrape is, we gotta get back up and keep going ok? It's what Damemon would want for you as well!"

Yuu nodded a little, subconsciously leaning close to Tagiru.

"We gotta keep going," he agreed, tilting his head to bury it in Tagiru's shoulder for a moment in order to compose himself.

Tagiru felt a flush creep up to his cheeks but squeezed Yuu's shoulder in comfort. He saw Taiki watching them with a look in his eyes and glanced over causing his eyes to meet with his mentor's who smiled at him This caused him to flush even more and look away. It felt nice holding his best friend like this but no, he shouldn't be having those thoughts. Yuu and Airu were practically dating each other after all, considering they had come to the party together. He had to stop thinking like this or he'd only make things difficult for himself.

It didn't seem as if Airu would be willing to let Yuu go so easily and he seemed to like her well enough...didn't he just decide he'd stop thinking this? Instead he focused on helping Yuu calm down. Airu didn't know about Yuu's past, so he needed to help his friend be composed enough to answer her erratic questions.

After Yuu was calmed down enough, the three headed back inside. Nene leaned over, pulling her little brother into an embrace and squeezing his hand.

"You ok?" she asked, concern echoing through her tone. Yuu wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah, I'm okay now," he assured her. "I just have to get back up and keep going." He gave a quick glance at Tagiru as he said this who grinned back at him, giving him a thumbs up. Nene just held him closer to her, kissing him gently on the forehead.

"I'm glad you're ok dame," Damemon admitted. "I don't like it when you think of that time. Makes me think I'm not a good enough partner when you do."

Yuu smiled a little, giving his sister a final squeeze before kneeling down besides Damemon.

"As long as you and the others are with me, I can keep going," Yuu promised his partner who beamed at him in return.

Once that was settled, the group headed to the digital world through Shoutmon cracking open a portal. Being the Digimon King did have it's advantages even when he was exhausted.

As the group landed in the digital world, it was a mess, to put it in the simplest words possible. There were frozen sculptures of digimon lying everywhere and the entire place was just a frozen wasteland.

Akari shivered a little at how cold it was, wearing a dress was not the ideal wear for this weather. Taiki, noticing her discomfort ignored his own cold and shrugged his jacket off, wrapping it around her shoulders.

Airu shivered as well, clinging onto Yuu.

"Yuu-kun, it's cold!" Airu complained. She wanted to ask about why he was so sad and what the big secret was...but Ryouma had stopped her, saying something about timing. Still...it was annoying that Tagiru knew about it and she didn't!

Yuu smiled a little, wrapping his own jacket around Airu's shoulders and holding her close, although felt sickened at the sight in front of him. He somehow wanted to shield his friends from it, especially Tagiru. And the other Hunters of course, but for some reason, Tagiru had entered his mind first.

'Not important right now' he scolded himself, trying to focus.

Ryouma shifted behind him, before draping his own jacket around Airu's shoulders as well and giving her a small smile. Airu looked surprised but flushed and smiled at the kind gesture. She reached over taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Thanks," she said softly. Her friend had been rather quiet since the whole Quartzmon incident and she wanted him to know they were there for him.

Ryouma blushed and simply nodded in response to that. Ren clapped his hand on his friend's back to show his support.

"Welcome to the Digital World!" A cheerful voice rang out. "I missed you, Tagiru!"

Tagiru's eyes suddenly widened and he stared. His insides squirmed as he saw who it was. Standing there on a hill above the frozen digimon was Mashimo Hideaki with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"H-Hideaki?" Tagiru finally managed to stutter, a little caught off guard. "Are you and Dobermon trying to help the hurt digimon?"

Hideaki shrugged, his smirk instantly changing to a concerned frown.

"Yeah, but it's hard to find what caused this," he said slowly. He moved closer to Tagiru, almost too close for comfort. "Will you come with me to find clues, Tagiru?"

Taiki got a strange feeling in his stomach and glanced at Hideaki. Following his gut instinct, he grabbed Tagiru by the arm, pushing him towards Yuu.

Tagiru cried out in slight alarm as he stumbled into Yuu who reached out, catching him.

"Tagiru! You ok?" Yuu asked, biting his lower lip, wondering why Taiki had suddenly pushed Tagiru towards him.

"Yeah, what's going on though?" Tagiru asked befuddled.

Yuu shook his head. He didn't know but it seemed Taiki was worried about something, regarding Hideaki and Tagiru. A strong desire to protect engulfed him suddenly and he shifted, so he was standing in front of the other.

Taiki turned back to Hideaki.

"I think splitting up is a good idea," Taiki said to him. "Why don't we search for some hints together, Hideaki?"

Hideaki's features immediately shifted to form a scowl on his face.

"I'd rather be with someone I know well," Hideaki practically demanded forcefully.

Tagiru shook his head, clearly confused.

"Hideaki, don't worry, Taiki-san's really nice," Tagiru said softly. "And he says things for a reason usually, so what about the rest of us, Taiki-san?"

Taiki pondered that for a moment.

"Tagiru, you and Yuu go together, Nene and Kiriha can be paired up, Zenjirou, can you go with Akari?" Taiki asked turning to his rival-friend. "I have my reasons and Ryouma, Ren and Airu, you three work well together so I'm not going to split you three up."

The others nodded although Hideaki scowled even more, making to protest before deciding to go with it. He glanced at Tagiru once, before following Taiki into the forest.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Hi there! First of all, I want to say welcome mikiyagami to my fic and I'm really glad you like it so much. Means a lot to me and I do hope you continue to leave me your feedback. Same goes for the rest of you. Feedback means a lot to me :) I don't find this chapter as well, still working on my description skills._

 **Chapter 4: Harass**

Taiki glanced back once at the rest of the group, seeing Tagiru and Yuu reach a distance away before looking at Hideaki.

"So, are you going to tell me why you were looking at Tagiru that way or am I going to have to persuade you?" Taiki asked casually. His expression was calm but his eyes were focused and surging with protectiveness. No one would hurt Tagiru and Yuu as long as he were around. They may not be his brothers but they were as good as.

Hideaki snarled at this.

"I can do whatever I want!" he snapped defensively. "Don't meddle with things that don't involve you, Taiki-san."

Taiki did not seem bothered by the harshness at all and simply glanced his way. He saw the threat in the words. There was something more to this. Hideaki wasn't working alone, not completely. However, whether his intentions with Tagiru were his own feelings or the result of someone's control was another matter entirely. He shrugged.

"Suit yourself then," he replied simply and continued walking.

Suddenly, Taiki stopped causing Shoutmon to almost bump into him and might have if Taiki hadn't been thrown back, crumpling to the ground roughly.

"Hideaki-kun, your methods are such a bore sometimes," A young boy appeared. He had light blue hair and was quite well-dressed. He wore a suit and bow tie, having a wide smile on his face.

Hideaki stared, his eyes widening.

It was rare for Kuro Sakai to wander out, he always remained indoors observing everyone. He shivered a little. Even though he looked up to Kuro as a teacher due to his methods, he made his plans look like those of a harmless little kitten.

"It's strange to see you here, Kuro-sama," Hideaki admitted. "Kaito and Taico usually don't let you out of their sight."

Kuro pouted.

"Well, they're just too grown-up," The blue-haired boy huffed before blinking and reappearing behind Taiki grabbing him.

Shoutmon hissed protectively, before making to attack but a needle came flying in his direction, stabbing itself inside him. He felt his vision blur. He wanted to move but he couldn't. A sharp pain moved through his body and he felt like someone had placed him above an oven that was burning inside and out.

"Shoutmon!" Taiki cried, ignoring his own pain of being blasted back and making towards him but Kuro's grip tightened around him.

"Don't worry, he's just paralysed!" Kuro assured him brightly. "Though since he's the king, I'm sure he'll be wanted actually. But I find you much more interesting."

Taiki grimaced in the iron-like grip which made it hard for him to do anything. He reached for his X-Loader but Kuro slapped against his arm so roughly that he lost grip on it causing it to hit the ground.

"Let go!" Taiki cried, squirming although Kuro placed some cloth over his mouth. He felt his vision blur although he continued squirming until he went limp.

Kuro glanced at Hideaki.

"Go ahead Hideaki-kun," Kuro said softly, grabbing Taiki's X-Loader and trapping the paralysed Shoutmon in a net. "They'll forgive me once they realise I brought the King." He headed back to headquarters.

Tagiru and Yuu were heading to look for clues to enquire more about the digital world situation on what exactly was going on.

"Yuu?" Tagiru asked, causing Yuu to look at him. "What was all that about? Why was Taiki-san so suspicious of Hideaki?"

Yuu frowned a little, remembering Taiki's reaction and shook his head.

"I don't know the exact reason," Yuu admitted. "But I think he felt Hideaki might want to hurt you."

"Why would he want to hurt me though?" Tagiru asked, baffled at the very thought. He and Hideaki were good friends after all.

Yuu sighed. A part of him wanted to be honest with his best friend but the other part wanted to protect his innocence. He knew Tagiru should be prepared for whatever came next and he was definitely strong-willed enough to handle anything that came their way but at the same time, this was different. It was different precisely because Hideaki was a close friend of Tagiru's, rather than an open enemy for them all to face. He opened his mouth to make an excuse to why Hideaki might want to hurt him but a voice cut through them.

"Exactly, why would I?" Hideaki's voice resonated from around them and suddenly hands grabbed hold of Tagiru.

Tagiru squirmed at the grip, before coming face to face with Hideaki Mashimo.

"Oi, Tagiru reload me!" Gumdramon cried from inside the X-Loader.

"Me too, Yuu!" Damemon agreed.

Tagiru elbowed Hideaki in the chest, managing to catch him off guard.

"Reload Gumdramon!"

"Reload Damemon!"

The two digimon came out in action ready to fight. Hideaki raised an eyebrow, reloading Dobermon as well as five other digimon. DarkTyrranomon, Devimon, SkullSatamon, ShadowWereGarurumon and WarGreymon along with Dobermon made up Hideaki's collection.

Yuu stepped in front of Tagiru protectively, not wanting Hideaki to hurt him. He glowered at the other.

"Where's Taiki-san?" Yuu asked defensively. Had Hideaki hurt Taiki? He would never forgive him if he had.

Hideaki hummed as if thinking of a fond old memory.

"He needn't get involved with something that's between Tagiru and I, should he?" Hideaki replied easily. "Yuu, get out of my way. I only want Tagiru."

Yuu outstretched his arms in front of his best friend.

"Never!" Yuu snarled, bristling in protective rage. He could see the look in Hideaki's eyes. It was the look Airu often gave him. Yes, she was his girlfriend but lately he had begun feeling, she had more of a physical attraction towards him. Her lust was harmless though but he felt Hideaki's wasn't. "Damemon, super-evolve!"

"You too Gumdramon!" Tagiru said immediately.

Arresterdramon and Tsuwamon appeared beginning to fight the army.

"Dobermon!" Hideaki cried. "Dark evolution!"

Dobermon began to change form, beginning to change it into a wolf-like creature called Anubismon.

Anubismon moved quickly and slashed his sword down Yuu's chest before the other two had a chance to move.

"Yuu!" Tagiru cried, catching his best friend. "Oh god, Yuu..."

Anubismon made to slash through again. Tagiru moved to shield his friend, crying out as the slash marked across his arm. Blood trickled through the wound but Yuu looked much more.

Blood was spilling fast out of the wound and the blond's breath was getting weary. Pushing his own pain aside, Tagiru knew enough to know that Yuu needed help or at least Cutemon's healing abilities. He laid his friend down against a tree and looked up.

"Hideaki stop!" Tagiru cried, trying to talk sense into his friend. "Please! If Anubismon strikes again, Yuu could die. The friend I remember wouldn't sacrifice another friend's life for his own selfish desires."

A flash of Hideaki's old self sparked in him for a moment before his eyes glowed red.

"I can have Cutemon heal him," Hideaki replied dismissively before his voice turned cold. "But you need to come with me. Surrender yourself and Yuu gets to live. Continue to hide behind him for protection and Anubismon will strike again."

Tagiru felt his blood turn cold. He didn't want to surrender. He really didn't. But at the same time, he couldn't just let Yuu die. He felt as if he were being crushed between two walls. If he went with Hideaki, there was no guarantee that he'd uphold his promise and have Yuu healed anyway. But if he didn't...oh god, what was he supposed to do? It was a double-edged sword.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you everyone for the continuous support. I've heard my fanfic being promoted around and thank you so much to Shizuka and Superiority for spreading the word around. I do try my best to keep everyone in-character. Thank you! I'd like to dedicate one-shots to each of my loyal reviewers so please mention your favourite pairing of Digimon in your next review. Thanks to **Black Angel of the Underworld** for betareading this and making it awesome!

 **Chapter 5: Auxiliary**

Tagiru stood there, uncertain, his hands clamped with sweat as he looked back at Yuu. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment before he opened them.

"Heal Yuu first," he said firmly. "Heal him and even if he tries to stop me, I'll go with you."

"Tagiru, don't be crazy!" Arresterdramon cried, his eyes wide as he stared at his partner. "Yuu would never want you to -"

"I know," Tagiru said, cutting him off. "But I'm willing to do this once I can make sure that Yuu is really healed. So..." He stared into Hideaki's eyes, not a hint of fear within them. Right now, the major thing was Yuu's safety and only that alone.

Hideaki smirked but couldn't help feeling surprised. He guessed Yuu and Taiki did have an influence on Tagiru after all. However, he knew Tagiru kept his word and clicked his fingers.

Cutemon appeared, his eyes red, and he moved almost robotically towards Yuu, his hands glowing. It seemed his powers didn't change, even though his eyes were blank; his skin was slowly turning from pink to purple.

"Cutie!" Tagiru cried, rushing towards him to somehow free him from the control he was under; but Hideaki grabbed him around the waist, holding him back.

"You can't do anything," Hideaki whispered in his ear.

Tagiru squirmed, thrashing against Hideaki's hold. The orange-haired boy only tightened his grip.

"Let me go!" Tagiru cried. "I have to save him! That's Taiki-san and Akari-san's partner! How could you?"

He went almost limp in relief, though, when the blood around Yuu's wound disappeared. The bed-ridden boy shifted, opening his eyes groggily.

"Tagiru?" Yuu said, a little dazed.

Hideaki momentarily let Tagiru go, allowing him to rush to Yuu's side.

"Yuu! You okay?" Tagiru asked, concern in his voice.

Yuu nodded, a small smile spreading on his pale lips. "I am now. Thank you."

"Oi, enough with the mush!" Hideaki snapped.

Seeing the two so relieved and happy made a flame light up in his heart. He felt as if someone was branding him from the inside.

"Tagiru, keep your end of the bargain or we can send Yuu back to where he was before!"

Tagiru clenched his hands into fists and stood up. Yuu blinked.

"What bargain?" Yuu asked his best friend, a sinking feeling in his chest.

Tagiru sighed. "Hideaki had Cutemon heal you, but I have to go with him. That was part of the deal. If I don't go, he'll do worse than what he's done. It's okay. Just get back to Nene-san and the others! We'll come out of this alive somehow!"

He placed a hand on Yuu's shoulder. He struggled to stay calm and composed. If Yuu got worried, he didn't know how much longer he would keep up with his cool facade.

"No, Tagiru!" Yuu said, alarmed.

"I'll be fine," Yuu tried to promise his best friend with a tight, reassuring smile."Tsuwamon won't let anything happen to me and..." He scrunched his eyes shut for a moment before opening them. "It's not like he'll keep his promises! Even if he doesn't hurt me, he'll be doing it anyway by hurting you! If you suffer...how do you think I'll feel? Please, there's nothing for you to worry about."

Yuu clenched his fists and his entire body shook. It was happening again. If Hideaki took Tagiru away now, would he ever see him again? He almost understood now how Nene must have felt this way,too.

He didn't know what to do. Things were slipping from his hands and, once again, he was helpless to stop the people he loved from being hurt. Why can't he ever stop this? Tagiru was stubborn when he wanted to be, so would his feelings matter?

"Yuu." Tagiru's voice snapped him out of his dark thoughts. "You're more important than you know. Please try to stay safe."

Tagiru sounded odd, but it was hard to tell what he was feeling. However, Yuu didn't have that long to guess because, suddenly, Tagiru's lips brushed against his.

A warm, tingling sensation surrounded his lips, his heart beating at a rapid rate even when Tagiru pulled away.

"Actions speak louder than words, right?" Tagiru said quietly. "Sorry I didn't say anything."

He stepped back. Yuu saw a brief flash of pain cross Tagiru's face when Hideaki grabbed him roughly. He was still a little dazed from the kiss but snapped out of it when they began to disappear, a torn cry slipping from his lips.

Arresterdramon tried to push the digimon he was fighting aside, letting out an indignant roar,but a blast from Anubismon knocked him roughly back on the ground, causing him to dedigivolve back to 's partner grabbed him, following Hideaki.

"Gumdramon! Tagiru!" Yuu screamed, trying to run after them.

He tripped, falling to the ground and shivered, his fists trembling viciously. Tears cascaded down his cheeks and a heavy weight resided in his heart.

He weakly rose onto his knees, which trembled as he tried to support himself up. He failed...again. Why? Why was he so weak, so useless? He was practically the epitome of failure.

He reached up to touch his lips and placed his other hand over his eye, disbelief marring his devastated features. Tagiru kissed him, Tagiru liked him. However, that did nothing but make his heart twist even more.

Yuu clutched his chest. Why did it hurt so much? He slammed his fists against the wall and screamed in frustration. Why? Why?

"Tagiru!" he said, his voice rebounding all around him.

 _I love you, too,_ a small voice said within him.

Taiki only cringed briefly as he was thrown into a room with nothing but a bed in it. Even the bed was just a cold mattress. Still under the affect of the chloroform, he couldn't do much besides squirm around. His thoughts drifted to his friends, hoping they were okay. He could handle any pain, but if Kuro went after Akari, Tagiru, or Yuu, he may not be able to cope as well with that.

"You still groggy?" Kuro chirped, sitting beside him on the bed, causing him to look over.

"No, drugs don't affect me at all," Taiki said dryly, trying not to let this freak faze him. "What have you done with Shoutmon?"

"Oh you mean the Digimon King?" The other said happily. "My minions have been wanting him for awhile. He's been one of the most wanted. They're so pleased I finally got him. Thank you for that, Taiki-kun."

If looks could kill, Kuro would be dead ten times over right now. Taiki wanted to punch the other for giving Shoutmon away as if he were some prize to be won, but that was not his only friend in trouble. Dorulumon and Cutemon were captives of this insane group as well. These must be the people Hideaki joined.

He felt as if he had no energy. Each part of his body weighed a ton each it seemed. He couldn't move his arms and legs around a lot. The drug seemed to definitely have a sedative affect on him, rendering him useless, something he hated.

"L - let me go," he said.

He winced slightly. That sounded much weaker than he expected.

"So cute," Taiki heard Kuro croon as the other stroked his cheek.

He tried to squirm out of his hold as Kuro pushed up his sleeves. However, Kuro grabbed him tightly from the other shoulder and took out some form of object. Through his blurred vision, it looked like a sharp pencil but as he squinted, while it definitely took the shape of one, it was all metallic.

A sharp, burning pain suddenly overtook him and he felt something warm trickle down his arm. He tried not to cry out by placing a hand over his mouth, but muffled protests managed to escape. Moving made it even worse

Kuro's work became rougher and finally an ear-piercing scream pierced the air, one that would shake anyone to the depths of their soul. Tears filled Taiki's eyes but he couldn't die from this. No, he had to live, for Akari, for Shoutmon and for everyone else, too, to make sure they never got into the hands of this crazy person.

His vision blurred, but the pain wouldn't let him go.

Akari, who had been walking with Zenjirou looking for clues, suddenly felt a sharp pain sear through her body. Something hot rose up in her throat and she fell to her knees, beginning to cough out blood.

She held her head as she started to sway back and forth, a wave of dizziness sweeping over her.

"Akari!" Zenjirou cried, reaching out to catch her body. "What's wrong?"

Akari clung to Zenjirou, absently wondering if the pain was coming from Taiki instead.

"T-Taiki..." she mumbled, tears filling her eyes. "Zenjirou, Taiki's in trouble. I don't know how, but my heart tells me he is. We have to go after him. Let's find Ballistamon ok? So at least one of us isn't useless against the enemies."

She hated it. She hated always being a burden and not being able to do anything for the person she loved. Taiki meant the world to her and when he had asked her to the party, it had been like a dream come true for her. Even though, she knew it didn't meant they were automatically girlfriend and boyfriend, it was a step in the right direction. But now...Taiki was hurt and her partner Cutemon was captive amongst the villains. Once again, she was nothing but dead weight to the team.

"Akari? Oi, earth to Akari!" Zenjirou's voice snapped the redhead out of her thoughts. "Hey! You okay?"

"Huh?" Akari said, blinking. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Zenjirou sighed.

"Akari, we'll find Taiki," he said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "For now, we'll change paths and search out Ballistamon, okay? Just relax."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder to support her. Through the years, he had come to view her as a sister and Taiki like a brother. It wasn't that she wasn't pretty, but his heart was still with Nene even though she belonged with someone else.

But now, things like that weren't of relevance. He saw Akari nod and winced in sympathy, leaning over to help her as she began coughing out blood again.

This was going to be a long journey.


	6. Chapter 6

Guys, sorry I took so long once again! I had a bit of a car accident, don't worry I'm fine. Just not had a chance to write anything up until now. This is based off the prompt 'white' but for once it's not a chapter title. Also, I made some edits to Chapter 4 mainly because chopped off some of my para's. *huffs* Thanks to **Black Angel of the Underworld** for betareading this chapter!

 **Chapter 6: Deal with the Devil**

Broken, shattered, alone. Yuu clutched his chest and tried hard not to tremble from the overwhelming sensation of loss. A giant hole was torn inside his heart and he didn't know what to do. He wanted to go after Tagiru, he did; but at the same time, he didn't know where to find him. The logical thing would be to go find his sister and search together.

"Yuu," Damemon said quietly, startling the blond.

"D-Damemon?" Yuu said, shivering a little; he felt cold. Like he was slowly falling into a black hole of darkness.

He tried to get up but fell back onto his knees. He could still feel the softness of Tagiru's lips on his own. Was it even right to think of Tagiru like this when he was with Airu? It was wrong of him...He was being unfaithful, he shouldn't hurt Airu like this. "D-Damemon? We need to go after Tagiru. We have to get him back. It's my fault. I shouldn't have ever become friends with Tagiru; he'd be safe then."

"That's not true, dame!" Damemon scolded as he jumped into his partner's lap. "Tagiru wouldn't want you to blame yourself. None of this is your fault. Let's do what Tagiru said and get back to the others, okay? They'll be able to help."

Yuu managed a nod, gripping his X-Loader. "O-okay...Super-evolve, Damemon..."

He pointed it towards his partner but no glow emitted from it. He realised his hand was shaking. Couldn't he do anything right now? Damemon couldn't even evolve. He briefly wondered if it was because of the fear he felt or just from the confidence he lacked.

He was beginning to feel that joining Taiki and the others as a General was a mistake. Fate had taken pity on him and gave him the opportunity to make amends; but even then he hadn't been able to. He was still evil, inside and out. He still hurt people. He hurt the person who was precious to him, his best friend. He had tried to kill Taiki-san in the first adventure and the shame was still festering Tears sprung up in his eyes, slipping down his cheeks. Why did Tagiru love him? Why did Airu want to date him? He was pathetic, nothing.

He shouldn't even be thinking of these things and yet they were flowing freely in his crumbling mind. The dam was nearly broken.

"Yuu..." Damemon murmured.

Yuu could tell Damemon was worried about him but right now, he didn't want to listen. He just wanted his best friend back. Tagiru...Tagiru had supported him when he was missing Damemon, had tried to cheer him up, seen him at one of his worst moments...and Yuu had not been able to do anything but get him hurt. However, right now he knew he needed to focus. No matter how evil he was, he had to save Tagiru. He owed him that much, at least, no matter what it took.

He forced himself to his feet even though his legs felt numb. "We...we have to go."

Being smaller than him, Damemon couldn't support Yuu in walking all that well. They had arranged to meet back in the middle after finding clues so the others would be there. Despite the fact that the blonde's vision blurred and he felt extremely dizzy, Yuu managed to make it back to the meeting spot where everyone save for Taiki, Tagiru, and Hideaki were. As soon as he reached there, however, his legs gave out and he collapsed.

"Yuu!" Damemon said, reaching out to him; but, due to his short hands, he wasn't able to support him.

He was also not fast enough.

Nene had been waiting along with the others for her little brother to return. No one was really talking and she noticed Akari was pale, not saying a single word. Airu sat beside her and had taken her hand to squeeze it in reassurance. She seemed to be worried about Yuu as well, considering he was her unofficial boyfriend.

"He'll be okay," Airu said. "Yuu's strong."

Nene managed a small, shaky smile at the younger girl. Kiriha reached over and squeezed her hand. She sent her boyfriend a grateful look; he wasn't good expressing with words but he tried to show that he was there for her no matter the situation. She didn't speak, not until she heard Damemon's scream and spun around, seeing her brother topple over.

Her eyes widened and she let go of Kiriha's hand, rushing forward to pull Yuu into her arms. "Damemon, what happened to him? And where's Tagiru-kun?"

Damemon hung his head. "I'm sorry, Nene. Hideaki captured Tagiru and Gumdramon. It all happened so fast, dame, that we couldn't do much. Tagiru sacrificed himself."

Nene exhaled through her nose. It wasn't obvious to the others but she knew Tagiru being captured had probably hurt Yuu a lot. Other than Taiki, Yuu was the closest to Tagiru and in a different way. Yuu respected Taiki but Yuu and Tagiru were equals in almost every way.

She smoothed a hand across Yuu's forehead. "Oh, Yuu." She knew the other was blaming himself and it pained her that she couldn't soothe it at the moment.

The group sat there, setting up camp, as Airu came to sit beside Yuu as well. Nene smiled at her, glad Airu was being supportive. Ryouma and Ren sat on either side of her whilst Akari and Zenjirou sat separately.

Yuu finally opened his eyes, a small groan escaping his lips. "N-Neesan?"

Nene smiled. "Yuu...are you okay?"

Yuu's eyes filled with tears. "T-Tagiru...because of me, he was..."

Nene's eyes saddened and she stroked Yuu's hair gently, murmuring softly in his ear, like she had when he was younger. "It's not your fault, Yuu. We'll get Tagiru-kun back."

"B-but we don't even know where he is," Yuu said. "What can we do? Hideaki could be hurting Tagiru right now and we can't do anything! I swear, I'll make him pay! How...?" He bristled. "How dare he do this to Tagiru? To us? Tagiru trusted Hideaki, Neesan! How could he just betray that trust?"

Nene didn't know. She knew Taiki had been suspicious about Hideaki but now there was no sign of Taiki either. Briefly, she also wondered if Akari's condition was due to Taiki but didn't ask. "I don't know Yuu. I do know we'll find him, though. No matter what happens."

'It's a lie,' a familiar voice spoke in Yuu's mind, causing the blond to freeze.

He recognized that voice although wondered how on Earth the voice was speaking inside his head. It was an odd sort of feeling and he would have dismissed it as his imagination if not for what happened next.

A black surge of electricity surrounded Nene, entering her ear. Nene let out an ear-piercing screaming and released Yuu, collapsing onto the ground. Smoke left her body as her eyes stilted over.

"Neesan!" Yuu screamed, reaching out for her as Kiriha rushed to her side.

"Nene!" Kiriha cried. "What happened?"

 _Think about it, Yuu,_ DarkKnightmon's voice spoke again. _Terrible things can happen with Nene and Tagiru if you don't comply. But if you assist me once more, I can lead you to Tagiru. You're meant for the darkness, Yuu. The longer you stay with them, the more pain you'll cause them. The colour of your heart; it's black, not white. Hideaki is torturing Tagiru, shattering his soul, his mind, his heart; trying to corrupt everything. You can stop this. Let go. Let go of your control._

Yuu wanted to resist. He knew DarkKnightmon wouldn't give him anything, that he was probably lying just to use him again. But what if he wasn't? It was selfish but he didn't want to let go of this chance, to save Tagiru no matter what the cost was for him. To protect his sister from being used, from being hurt. She had done so much for him, now it was his turn.

His eyes wandered to his sister's still body as Kiriha held her close to his chest, trying to get her to wake but to no avail. Airu was kneeling by her side, not knowing what to do, and the others were looking for the source of the strange phenomenon. One look at her sister's pale, wide-eyed face was enough. He was done with this, this insufferable helplessness. His eyes hardened and his mind seemingly tightened back to its calculating state.

Yuu then stood up. His legs weren't wobbly anymore. He looked at Kiriha and everyone gathered around her. "Airu-san?"

Airu looked up at him. "Yuu."

"Take care of Neesan." His voice was blank but even as Airu called out to him, it was too late, he had turned around and ran.

"Yuu!" Damemon chased after him, cursing under his breath at what his partner was doing. "Yuu, you idiot! You're acting crazy! Doing this is dame dame! Tagiru would probably punch you for this."

Yuu blinked back tears and stopped for a moment. "Damemon, I know Tagiru won't agree with this. But he doesn't know me. Not the real me. No one does, not even Neesan. They take pity on me, they care; but they don't know me. I'm evil. My heart is black."

Damemon shook his head. "That's ridiculous, dame! Your heart isn't black! You're kind, Yuu! I wouldn't have anyone other than you as my partner!"

Yuu let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Kind? All I do is get people hurt. I got you killed, I almost killed Taiki-san, and now Tagiru, too. Just let me do this, Damemon." He scrunched his eyes shut. "If you can't support me, then go back with Neesan and the others to try and save me. But it won't work. I've already made up my mind and I won't change it." His heart was screaming at how stupid he was being but he ignored it. This was the only way and it was better for everyone.

Damemon wanted to smack some sense into Yuu but restrained himself. There was no point in going back. He could help Yuu more by being at his side and finally said, exasperated, "I'll support you."

Yuu had heard his sister's soft pleas trying to call him back but he blocked them out. Was he being selfish? He didn't know but right now he also didn't know if he really cared. "DarkKnightmon, I accept. I'll do whatever it takes to make Hideaki pay."

Rage filled his mind and he bristled in fury. His fists clenched and shook as the shadowy figure of DarkKnightmon appeared before him. He should be scared. This creature was a monster. He should be afraid of what was going to happen to him, what DarkKnightmon would take from him. But as he stared up at the dominating creature, he didn't feel a single ounce of fear.

"Excellent," DarkKnightmon said, a cruel smirk dancing across his features. A shadowy bracelet appeared next to the dark knight. "Take it, Amano Yuu, and have your fate be sealed with ours."

"Don't!" Damemon said. He had been quiet up till now but he wanted to – No, he _had_ to try one last time. "Think this through, Yuu! We can find another way."

Yuu almost pulled back at that. He wanted to stop, a part of him just wanted to pull away and run. Doubt flitted across his mind and his hand slightly shook, hovering behind the bracelet.

"Do you really want that boy to suffer?" DarkKnightmon said, almost languidly. "Not that he isn't already." A projection appeared, showing Tagiru. He was naked, unconscious, and lying in his own pool of blood. "Hideaki has ended his torture for now, but I don't think once will be enough for him."

Damemon glowered at DarkKnightmon. "We'll save Tagiru another way!"

DarkKnightmon hummed. "You're running out of time then. Hideaki may like to play with his toys but he isn't the most patient person. I can assume you know that already, hmm?"

Yuu shuddered from the sight of the image. "Tagiru!" He lunged forward; his fingers barely brushed across the projection as the image disappeared. "I've already thought this through, Damemon." He grasped the bracelet even as Damemon surged forward, clinging to his leg.

Darkness surrounded his body, a wisp of it going through his ears. Yuu felt his heart constrict and sour bile rising up in his throat before his body went numb. It ached slightly. There was no pain at all. No feelings of anything. The blond bowed, a cruel smirk gracing his features. "Let's get started."


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello everyone! Your reviews keep me going everyone so keep them coming! Knowing there are people out there who like what I write means a lot to me. Thank you so much everyone, I mean it. This is based on the prompt 'division'. Thanks to_ **Black Angel of the Underworld** _for betareading this chapter!_

 **Chapter 7: Divided We Break**

Numb. Cold. Pain. As well as an all-round aching. These were the feelings Tagiru opened his eyes too. He felt sore around the legs and looked around with bleary eyes, vaguely realising that he was nude. What had happened to him? Where was everyone? He felt oddly nauseous , too, and his throat constricted, but he swallowed the sour bile down and coughed a bit. He shouldn't have done that. He needed to get up and find what was going on.

"Gumdramon...Y-Yuu...Taiki-san..." Tagiru murmured, trying to clear his head. Where were his clothes? Where was Gumdramon?

"Finally awake?" A cold voice said.

Tagiru looked up to see Hideaki enter the dark room. He hastily attempted to cover himself but a jolt of pain coursed through his legs and he cringed. Seeing Hideaki laugh at his discomfort made the memories rush back so quickly that his head started to ache; he thought that he would throw up again – completely.

"W-what did you do to me?" he snapped. "Where's Gumdramon?"

Hideaki smiled. "Still so fiery, Tagiru?"

Tagiru felt heat creep up his cheeks. He wanted his clothes. He wanted to get out of here. It was cold and he didn't know how long he would last. He didn't like this place at all. Not to mention, he was exposed completely to Hideaki's gaze. He tried to shift back and cover himself, attempting to ignore the throbbing ache in his body.

However, Hideaki wasn't having it. He grasped the other boy's arm and yanked him forward. The blonde's lips suddenly ghosted along his exposed neck as he gripped his hair tightly, pulling his head back. Tagiru flinched as Hideaki's warm, soft breaths trailed along his sensitive skin. He didn't like it, he _didn't_ like it.

 _Make it stop,_ he thought frantically. _Make it stop!_

"Let me go," Tagiru said with a whimper. "Please, I want to go home. Hideaki – "

He let out a silent scream when Hideaki bit harshly into his neck and felt something warm trickle from the wound. His senses went haywire as pain mixed with a hint of pleasure ran through his veins.

He shook his head. No, this was sick. He weakly smacked his fists on Hideaki's chest, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Get off of me. Let me go. Please…"

Hideaki suddenly dragged him down and Tagiru cried out when he slammed against the floor when. "Let me go! Please, let me go!"

He shivered. It hurt. Everything hurt and he just wanted it to end. He wanted it to stop hurting and be away from here.

Hideaki smiled. "Oh Tagiru. You accepted this deal yourself so Yuu would remain safe. His safety does come with a price you know." He slithered an arm around Tagiru's bare waist pulling him into his arms. "Don't worry though. First time always hurts the worst. But soon...you'll crave me. You'll learn to love the pain. Why being so modest?" With his other hand, he grabbed Tagiru's hands holding them above his head.

Tagiru didn't want to. He didn't want to get used to the pain. He wanted Yuu safe but where was the other? He had hoped Yuu was at least looking for him. The tears seemed to fall even harder. It wasn't like him to cry but he felt shame well up inside him. Where was Gumdramon? Had Hideaki hurt him too? He couldn't even find out where he was right now.

"Please," Tagiru said, "it's cold; give me back my clothes." He hated how pleading his voice was. He was pathetic. He couldn't even fight Hideaki; some superstar he was.

He shivered as Hideaki's hand caressed up his thigh and squirmed from the touch. No one had ever touched him like this and he didn't want anyone else to, unless it was Yuu.

Hideaki hummed, almost as if considering it, before leaning over and capturing Tagiru's lips almost hungrily with his own.

Tagiru resisted even more, trying to push him off, but Hideaki's grip on his wrists and the arm around his waist pulled him further into his arms. More tears fell from Tagiru's cheeks. No matter how much he fought back, Hideaki was too strong. He didn't even remember what happened last night.

It had been a blur. He remembered telling Hideaki to stop and that it hurt but the next thing he remembered after that was waking up nude with an aching body.

As Hideaki pulled away, he attempted to buck the other off but it seemed he didn't need to as he was released from the other's arms.

"You don't need clothes," Hideaki said dismissively. He went to a drawer and pulled out a blanket. "This will help deal with the cold. I'll send Gumdramon to you. Just remember one thing, love." He planted a soft kiss on Tagiru's neck as he wrapped the blanket around the other's body. "If you and Gumdramon make any escape plans, he'll be made into a slave and I'll have Yuu killed. The only reason I've kept Gumdramon alive is to keep you some company while I'm away."

Tagiru flinched, before glowering at Hideaki. "They'll come for me, you know. They'll get me away from you."

Hideaki laughed. "Maybe they will but, by that time, you'll be mine, Tagiru. Your body, your mind, your heart, and soul; it'll all belong to me."

Tagiru clenched his fists. "That'll never happen! You won't get away with this!"

Hideaki walked out of the room without another word.

Instantly, Tagiru's brave facade withered away and he collapsed into a heap of tears. It was obvious what Hideaki had done to him last night. It explained why he was so sore everywhere and why he was nude. It didn't take a genius to figure it all out.

"Why...why me?" Tagiru sobbed, trembling. Even clutching the blanket tighter around his body didn't take away the pain of Hideaki's disgusting touch from him.

It lingered and never let go.

Taiki lay in the next chambers to where Hideaki had brought Tagiru. There was a carving in blood on his back with letters boldly written 'KURO SAKI'. He breathed heavily, trembling a little although his eyes were glassy and distant.

"Are you cold?" Kuro's playful voice lilted out to him as he entered the room. "Your training has only begun though. But since I've claimed you already, I guess I can mark you."

Taiki stared, although it seemed as if he were looking right through him. He didn't know how to respond. Should he be afraid? Or pretend to be? That was odd. He didn't feel scared, not at all. It had hurt at first but now there seemed to be a feeling of nothing.

Kuro didn't like it when he was this silent though. He liked the screams, the agony and briefly wondered if he should pretend to show fear. He dismissed this without a second thought, deciding it didn't matter. However, he was curious as to what Kuro meant by marking.

"Kuro-sama, what do you mean by marking?" Taiki said, blinking in an almost child-like curious manner at the person.

Kuro laughed a little, leaning closer and pulling Taiki close too. He then sunk his teeth into Taiki's neck, leaving a mark of his own teeth. It had direct link with thoughts and the people in a person's heart. It would make things easier for them all.

"Kudou Taiki, your mission now is clear," Kuro said. "You will be working as our General and King Shoutmon will rule this world under our command." He traced the carving on Taiki's back almost as a second thought. It had taken only a small proportion of his powers to extend his nails, carving his own name on Taiki's back.

Taiki's eyes were void as if he didn't quite know where he was. He looked around, before bowing to Kuro. "Of course, I would like to greet those meddlesome members of Xros Heart myself." Somehow, the name felt familiar to him but he couldn't quite pick up what it was supposed to be. Something felt odd but he didn't care enough about it to think more on it.

Kuro laughed, delighted. "Taico will be so pleased! Ne Taiki, let's go then! We better get started."

Gumdramon felt sore all over. Allomon, one of Hideaki's new partners had given him quite the rough beating especially when he hadn't healed from Anubismon's attacks as of yet.

"T-Tagiru?" he said weakly.

"Oi, Gumdramon," A familiar voice said and the blue dragon digimon looked up to see the Digimon King.

"Ou-sama!" Gumdramon said, shocked. "How did you...how did you get trapped here?"

Shoutmon shook his head. "This crazy guy kidnapped Taiki and Hideaki betrayed us and ran off. Gumdramon, Taiki's not doing good at all. That guy...He's shattered Taiki's spirit."

Gumdramon frowned. "You think that's bad? Hideaki kidnapped Tagiru and I. Actually, Tagiru gave himself to protect Yuu and Hideaki's done something terrible to him, I can feel it in my bones. I wanna get out of here and save him but I can't move around much at all. Gosh, I wanna smash the guy's head in."

Shoutmon was about to reply when some sort of darkness passed through him. It sliced through his skin before his eyes glowed red.

"Ou-sama?" Gumdramon said, looking puzzled as Kaito entered the room.

"Shoutmon," Kaito said, a cruel smirk gracing her features, "it's time for you to get to work. I think you should start with your own castle, use it as the conquest starting point. Taiki is waiting."

"Yes, Kaito-sama," Shoutmon bowed to the woman.

"Oi, Ou-sama, what's going on?!" Gumdramon got to this feet, although that was a mistake considering his body wasn't ready for the moment. He swayed heavily and almost crashed against the ground if Hideaki hadn't come in then and caught him.

"Easy there, you wild child," Hideaki said, rolling his eyes as Kaito took Shoutmon.

Gumdramon didn't know whose head he wanted to rip off first. Hideaki or Kaito's. Considering what Hideaki was doing to Tagiru, he definitely was first on the list but Shoutmon wanting to conquer the digital world could be deadly for them all.

"You..." Gumdramon bristled at Hideaki. "Where's Tagiru, you monster? What have you done to my best friend?"

At the words 'best friend', something stirred inside Hideaki for a moment. Flashes of Tagiru standing up for him against Ganemon and promising to support him in his dream flashed through his mind vividly. His smiles, his reassurances.

 _Am I doing the right thing?_ This thought briefly crossed his mind and for a moment, he found himself wondering whether he really was. He wanted Tagiru to be his...he was perfect in every way. He was everything he wasn't. Bright, bubbly, so full of life. He had an amazing body too. He was definitely not unattractive. He was so innocent that Hideaki just wanted to take him and keep him for himself.

But Tagiru had been crying...

 _He's just not used to your hands yet_ A dark slithering voice spoke in his mind. _He's untouched and his heart is weak. It yearns for Yuu, not for you, Hideaki. Don't let your heart overtake you now. Your heart is weaker than his. If you fall prey to it's tricks, Tagiru will escape and find happiness with the one he truly desires. Keep him as yours. You have the upper hand right now, don't lose it._

Hideaki's gaze hardened. That was right. Yuu was the evil one, not him. He had used digimon before and now he was making Tagiru think he was good. There was no way he was in the wrong. Tagiru would get used to it soon enough. It always hurt the first time anyway.

His mind seemed to wander and focus solely on the event that had occurred the other night. How Tagiru writhed under him in pleasure, his eyes hazy but with need. Oh, that need was enough to drive him crazy with desire. Tagiru had enjoyed it. He knew that deep within the brunette's body and mind that he had loved it. If he came around his senses, he'll just crave for him and only him. Not for Yuu, him.

A cruel smile danced across his features. "Don't worry, I've come to take you to him. Don't try and come up with any escape plans though. Tagiru knows the consequences of what will happen if you do."

Gumdramon's tiny paws clenched into fists. "Why I oughta..."

"Don't make me change my mind and forbid you from seeing him," Hideaki cut in casually. "Tagiru is mine now, so consider it my mercy that I'm letting you live to keep him company."

Gumdramon wanted to hammer this guy until he was bleeding and begging for mercy but at the same time, he did want to see Tagiru. He snarled in fury. "Take me to him right now!"

Hideaki's smirk widened. "Aren't you bossy?" He picked up the little digimon in his arms and Gumdramon instantly squirmed.

"I can walk!" Gumdramon protested.

Hideaki laughed. "You'll just injure yourself further if you try. I'd rather not see you make a fool of yourself. It won't be fun if you get yourself killed. I can't keep Tagiru company all the time after all."

Gumdramon scowled and glowered at the other. If looks could kill, the other would be dead ten times over. He crossed his arms and went silent however. The odds were pitted against him until he could heal enough...Gosh, it wasn't his strength but he had a feeling he'd need to be a bit more patient if he were gonna save Tagiru from this monster.


	8. Chapter 8

_Hi everyone! Wow...a bundle of mixed reviews huh? Guess I can't please everyone! Sorry Miss A, I tend to take a darker route to things, I know not everyone likes that but I did like the mature feels of Tamers and Xros Wars compared to the lighter feel of Adventure 02. Not to say, I dislike light but as a sequel of one of the darker seasons, it needs to be dark. This uses the prompt 'mask'. On that note, sorry for taking a decade to update! Thanks to_ **Black Angel of the Underworld** _for betareading this chapter!_

 **Chapter 8: The Mask Falls In Place**

Yuu observed his surroundings. Trees were knocked down and the digimon were lying unconscious everywhere. Yuu, Tsuwamon, and DarkKnightmon had reconstructed into Team Twilight. They had taken down the area easily. Yuu stepped back as DarkKnightmon threw a dark energy ball at the digimon. It surrounded them and caused painful whimpers to erupt from their lips as they disappeared back to DarkKnightmon's Headquarters. Yuu felt a twinge of guilt, seeing that Tsuwamon was being slower than usual but DarkKnightmon managed to manipulate him into listening.

Seeing Tsuwamon grow weaker with each battle made the blond hesitate at times though. But he needed to do this. The dark power was needed no matter what.

Coming back to this side made Yuu feel free. A small part of him knew he shouldn't feel like this. He wanted revenge. He wanted to claw Hideaki's eyes out, wrap his hands around his throat until he choked to death, make him fall to his knees, begging for mercy, begging to be spared.

"Yuu." DarkKnightmon appeared where he had finished capturing the slaves. "Nene and the others are headed this way."

Yuu blinked. "Neesan? Do we need to leave then?"

Tsuwamon reached to pick Yuu up when something kicked him and he was sent flying in the air.

"What do you think you're doing?" a strong female voice said.

Mervamon appeared then, kicking Tsuwamon down again.

"Mervamon!" Yuu said, his eyes cold. "Stay out of my business!"

Mervamon frowned. "Us big sisters need to stick together, Yuu."

Beelzebumon flew beside her. "What's going on here?"

"Beelzebumon!" another voice called. "Mervamon!"

Nene and the others rushed over.

DarkKnightmon looked at Yuu. "I'll leave this battle to you, Yuu. You know what you have to do. Tagiru is counting on you after all."

Yuu's eyes dulled and he nodded slowly as his thoughts wandered to what Tagiru must be going through right now. He could also imagine Tagiru screaming his head off at him for being so impulsive and drawing out this path. This worried him briefly before the thought vanished from his head, as if it were never there in the first place. He gave a nod. "Yes, of course."

DarkKnightmon smirked, before disappearing.

"Yuu..." Nene said. "Come back with us. We can save Tagiru-kun together!"

"No, we can't!" Yuu snapped, harsher than he intended. "If I stay with you guys, Tagiru won't be the only one hurt. Besides, Taiki-san isn't back with you guys either."

Akari flinched and trembled as Beelzebumon looked alarmed at that. She shook her head as Beelzebumon opened his mouth to ask.

"Not now," she whispered. "One thing at a time. Yuu-kun, please come back with us. It's what Taiki would want, too. Taiki's hurt; he's broken; his soul, his spirit, everything is gone. I...I can feel it. But if he were here, he'd want you to work with us. He'd want you to work with Nene."

[How does Akari know what Taiki is feeling? Was this explained before? Just to answer, yeah this was explained in one of the earlier chapters. Taiki and Akari can feel each other's pain. Part of the reason being they love each other and the second part is the Dragon Phoenix feeds on the power of love and light.] Oh, I see. Thank you for the clarification!

"Yuu," Airu said, stepping forward, "let me help you. Nene-san and I can both help you."

Yuu looked at Airu and then at Nene - his sister. His only family and the person he'd do anything for, other than Tagiru. A part of him wanted to listen, to reach out to them, but he then he remembered: DarkKnightmon's words, Tagiru's sacrifice, Hideaki's triumphant smirk. He had to face this alone.

"I'm sorry, Airu," Yuu said; the softness that had momentarily come into his eyes vanished. His eyes were hard, blank, like he was blocking everything out purposefully. "I think Ryouma's a much better match for you. For your own safety, I believe it is best that we don't stay together."

[This is very abrupt and unrealistic; again, smoother transition. Revise it and see if there could be a better way to phrase this. I don't want to touch it because it might change things and I don't want it to affect your story too greatly.] *Feel free to do this part, although I added some of Yuu's thoughts regarding Airu a bit further down*

He saw Airu's eyes fill with tears through his peripheral vision but forced himself to look away. "I have to save Tagiru, Neesan. I'm sorry."

He could almost feel it. Airu's heart was breaking. He knew. He knew she had been waiting so long for this moment, for them to become a couple. She had always had a crush on him after all. But she was the last thing on his mind now. He didn't need her. He didn't need anyone. He could do whatever he wanted on his own. They would just hold him back and right now...he really didn't want to hold back.

"Yuu!" Nene grabbed Yuu by the shoulders. "DarkKnightmon won't help you! He's just using you like he used me! You have to trust us."

Yuu smiled. "I don't mind though. Tagiru's letting himself be hurt so Hideaki won't harm ma and the rest of you. Shouldn't we do the same?" He shook off Nene's hands and turned around. "Tsuwamon, let's go."

"Yuu, snap out of it," Kiriha said. "You know, this world isn't a game."

"For Taiki's sake!" Akari added.

"Yuu!" Airu cried as Ryouma wrapped his arms around her.

Yuu stopped for a moment, turned, and laughed a little. The laugh was almost playful and it set the others on edge. "I'm not treating it like a game. You tell me we should stick together, but take a look at yourselves. Beelzebumon's too busy with Mervamon to realize what's happening to Taiki. Oh, I forgot, Taiki-san isn't your partner anymore, is he?"

Beelzebumon gritted his teeth but managed to keep calm. "Taiki's my friend, Yuu."

"Beelzebumon..." Mervamon said, knowing he didn't like being accused like that.

Yuu looked at Beelzebumon. "Then he's the one you should be saving. I'll come back, once Tagiru is safe..." He allowed Tsuwamon to pick him up.

Nene widened her eyes and dashed forward. "Yuu! Stop!"

She leaped forward to grab the two from escaping but she only grabbed thin air. Grief almost exploded in her chest as she met the ground.

"Nene-san!" Airu said, running to Nene's side. "Are you okay?"

"Yuu…" Nene mumbled as she clutched the ground in tight fists.

Everyone else encircled around her, which made Nene only bury her face into her arms to hide her tears. Her brother… How could she not stop her brother? What was wrong with her, with Yuu?

Beelzebumon turned to Akari. "What's going on? What happened to Taiki?"

A small part of him – maybe it was a larger part of him, Beelzebumon couldn't tell – pulsed with a small ache of regret. Though his love for Mervamon was stronger, there was a small pocket his heart held that carried what friendship he and Taiki had. Now it seemed almost…nonexistent.

Akari managed a weak smile. "I don't know all the details but Taiki's broken. I feel like whatever's happened to him has really broken his soul."

"You worry too much, Akari!" a cheerful voice said.

They all turned, absolutely stunned, to see Taiki. He stepped forward with Shoutmon besides him.

"Taiki!" Akari said, her eyes filling with tears as she threw her arms around her boyfriend. "I was so worried." She realized there was something different about the hug. The warmth usually radiating from Taiki wasn't there but maybe because he had escaped from a horribly close call and been imprisoned for a while. "Taiki, you must be freezing. Your skin's really cold."

She knew she sounded suspicious, but something about this didn't seem right. This wasn't her Taiki. She knew she had felt his pain but right now, Taiki stood here without any pain or injuries. He did not look like a person whose soul and spirit were broken.

"Uh, yeah," Taiki said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Kuro didn't like the heater much. Thank god for Shoutmon that we managed to escape from there somehow."

Akari pulled away and Beelzebumon flew forward.

"I was worried," Beelzebumon said. "Yuu said - And then Akari - "

"Not to mention, you do not look like a person who just came back from being kidnapped," Kiriha said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he had left Nene to Zenjirou.

"Always suspicious, huh?" Taiki mumbled, a small smile on his lips. "That's just like you, Kiriha. What proof do you want?"

"He's just worried," Akari said. "I mean, you were missing for a while and I felt you...you were hurt. It was a really nauseous feeling. It's still there."

Taiki smiled. "It's alright. I'm still breathing so that's good enough for now, right?" He frowned. "Aren't we missing a few?" He looked around the place and saw Nene staring into space. "Nene? Are you alright?"

Akari pursed her lips when Taiki dodged the topic. Yes, he was casual but they were worried about him! What was wrong with him?

Nene snapped out of her reverie to look at Taiki. "Yuu... He joined DarkKnightmon." Her voice shook and her whole body trembled. She wrapped her arms around herself.

Akari moved to hug Nene, but the older girl didn't respond at all.

Taiki frowned. "That's reckless. We should look for him, shouldn't we? Tagiru, too."

Kiriha threw another suspicious look at him. "Shouldn't you have some idea where Tagiru is? You've been imprisoned for a while. Surely you must have some sort of clues for us."

Shoutmon tilted his head to stare at Taiki before looking at the others. "We might be able to lead you guys there."

Airu stepped forward. "Please do! Yuu might be there as well!"

Ryouma looked upset. "Airu, he hurt you! Why do you still want to go after him?"

Airu shook her head. "He and Tagiru are best friends. He's probably just worried. He didn't mean it. Please, Taiki-san, lead us there! Kiriha-san, stop! You're being suspicious for nothing!"

Kiriha frowned, before glancing at Akari. "What do you think? You know him better than all of us."

Akari furrowed her brows together slightly. Shoutmon's voice was almost robotic and there was something about Taiki that she couldn't seem to pick up on. But she knew there was something off about her friend. This wasn't the boy she had grown to love. This wasn't the person who could never turn his back on others. Also, if Taiki did know where Tagiru was, there was no way the real Taiki would leave a friend behind. Things did not add up.

Taiki wasn't cold because this Kuro didn't like the heater. She had felt him breaking, she had felt the pain, and the feeling of his soul being shattered.

"You're not Taiki," Akari said, and Taiki stared.

"You're imagining things," he said.

Nervousness. Fear. His voice was simply raucous. This definitely sent off alarm bells. Akari's eyes narrowed even further.

"Akari-kun..." Nene said.

Beelzebumon stepped besides Akari. "You heard her. Who are you? You're not acting like Taiki."

Kiriha snarled. "We want some answers."

"Kiriha-kun..." Nene murmured; however, she but didn't move to stop him and only looked at Taiki.

A cry of protest left Tagiru's lips as Gumdramon was thrown into the room that Tagiru was in.

"Gumdramon!" Tagiru said, kneeling down beside him.

Gumdramon coughed a little. "'M fine, you okay?"

Tagiru nodded while unconsciously tugging the blanket he held tighter around his shoulders. He held out his hand to Gumdramon and his partner took a hold of it. The touch made him a little uncomfortable and he quickly let go of the hand, flinching away from it as he felt another presence. Suddenly, a cold flutter of wind blew against Tagiru's body. He froze, stunned, and watched in silence as Gumdramon's eyes widened into ridiculous proportions.

"Hmm, I think you should get tanned a little bit more," a familiar voice said. "You look pale, Tagiru."

Shame instantly welled up inside Tagiru when he realized that Hideaki took away his blanket and he wrapped his arms around himself, to salvage some dignity he had left. His cheeks flushed in humiliation.

"Tagiru, sorry I didn't protect you," Gumdramon whispered, looking back at Tagiru.

Tagiru shook his head as he watched Hideaki leave the room. "It's okay. I'm fine."

He wasn't fine. Everything hurt. He couldn't bear to look at himself right now. He was disgusting. He wanted a shower, to get Hideaki's lingering, filthy touch away from his body. But Gumdramon had always seen him so strong. He was also one of the more childish digimon in the digital world. How was he supposed to explain to his partner that Hideaki had defiled him?

Gumdramon frowned. "What'd he do to you? I'll smash his head in!"

Tagiru managed a weak laugh. "That's not a good idea right now."

Gumdramon huffed. "Why aint it?"

"I dunno but I think Hideaki's working under someone," Tagiru muttered. "Normally, I'd be all for smashing them all down but I don't think we can. We're just not...we're not strong enough, Gumdramon. I...I'm not strong enough." His cheeks were suddenly moist and he realised he was crying. Damm it...so much for being strong.

He wasn't strong enough. It pained him terribly to even stand up and take more of it. His inner thighs were still bleeding profusely and everything hurt. He felt dirty, tainted, and like he wanted to throw up all over again. He saw Gumdramon begin to protest though and smiled a little.

"Gumdramon... It hurts," Tagiru whispered, causing Gumdramon to stop and look at him.

Tears continued to cascade down his cheeks. "Hideaki hurt me in a really bad way. I woke up and – and he'll just do it again, I know. I'm trying to fight him off, but he's so strong, Gumdramon. It... It's not fair." His voice choked up. "I wanna go home."

Gumdramon's eyes were wide. "Tagiru..." He wasn't the greatest at comfort but the King had said he was always good at encouragement. He grabbed Tagiru's hands in his paws. "I'll get you out of here, Tagiru. No matter what I have to do for it."

"Thank you," was all Tagiru could get out with his shaky voice. He tried to wipe the tears away but they just kept falling.


	9. Chapter 9

_Everyone, thank you! You've all been so supportive! This chapter is going to get a bit worse but keep hanging on ok? Things will get better eventually. This is based on the prompt 'helpful'._

 **Chapter 9: The Power of the Hunters**

Tagiru was surprised when Hideaki allowed him outside the room he and Gumdramon were imprisoned in all the time. Although it didn't do much, considering he couldn't walk at all and had to have Gumdramon support him.

"You ok Tagiru?" Gumdramon said, concerned as he saw his partner wince.

Tagiru managed a small smile. "Yeah...I'm just a bit sore."

Gumdramon bristled. "I really need to kill that guy."

Tagiru laughed. "Try not to do that. I really don't want to see any more blood at the moment."

Gumdramon sighed. "I know you're hurt Tagiru…I'm sorry."

Tagiru blinked. "For what? It's not like you hurt me."

Gumdramon shook his head. "But I couldn't stop him. If I had been stronger, you wouldn't have gotten kidnapped and hurt by him like this. If I had just…"

Tagiru tried to bend down and put a hand on Gumdramon's head. "Not your fault. H-Hideaki was after me anyway. Besides, I chose this to protect Yuu remember? I really hope he's alright."

Gumdramon frowned. "Well, Damemon wasn't captured in that room so I'm assuming he's kept Yuu safe."

Tagiru's eyes widened a little. "What room, Gumdramon?"

Gumdramon blinked, surprised at Tagiru's sudden change in tone and looked at his friend. "The room I was trapped in before I came to you."

If Gumdramon had been trapped in a room, was it possible that there could be others there? Maybe...maybe he could get out of here or at least contact Yuu somehow. Yuu would help him right? If he still cared...

Tagiru's shoulders sagged as he thought of Yuu. Why wasn't he here yet? Why wasn't he there to help him? He knew Yuu didn't know about the horror Hideaki had put him through but he should know. He should know that he was being hurt. Was he mad about the kiss? Maybe Tagiru shouldn't have been so forward and kissed him like that but still.

"Tagiru are you ok?" Gumdramon asked, noting the look on his face.

Tagiru didn't reply. He didn't think he could say he was with a straight face. The physical pain suddenly seemed like something in the sidelines. Hideaki had said no one was coming was him...was he right? Would he be trapped here, a toy to Hideaki's pleasures forever? The thought shook him so much that his entire body began to tremble.

"I wanna go home," Tagiru whimpered, tears cascading down his cheeks. "I don't wanna stay here forever."

"Oi Tagiru," Gumdramon wrapped his tiny paws on his shoulders. "Look at me. Tagiru, look at me!"

Tagiru managed to look at Gumdramon. "I wanna go home, Gumdramon. Even if my feelings are never returned, even if Yuu never loves me back, I just wanna go home."

"You will," Gumdramon promised, his eyes shining with determined. "I don't care what I have to do, I'll get you out."

"Really?" Tagiru said hopefully. "You'll protect me from him?"

Gumdramon smiled. "I'll protect you. You're my partner and my best friend and I won't let him get his slimy hands on you again!"

Tagiru wiped away his tears, trying to smile albeit it wasn't very convincing. "S-sorry, I seem so pathetic right now. I...just...Yuu didn't come for me. He didn't come to help me when I really needed him. Doesn't he care about me as his friend anymore even?"

Gumdramon frowned. "Yuu isn't like that, Tagiru. He and Damemon would never give up on you. Damemon told me he was really worried about you when you ran off with..." He bristled a little before continuing. "Hideaki to hunt Volcdramon."

Tagiru winced a little at the memory before trying to focus. "Then why isn't he coming for me?"

Gumdramon sighed. "Tagiru, you think they'll make it easy for him to get to you? I aint logical but you said so yourself that Hideaki's working for someone right?"

Tagiru would have understood where the logic was coming from if he hadn't been through hell itself. "Logic isn't really very comforting now, Gumdramon." He sounded tired but forced himself to stand back up. "But anyway, let's do what we can before that guy pulls us back in. Can you show me where that room is?"

Gumdramon looked him over, concerned. "You need to sleep right now. Tagiru, you look exhausted!"

Tagiru laughed weakly. "Yeah well, the sooner I can find some help, the sooner I can sleep." He needed to get out of here. He didn't want night to come and for Hideaki to hurt him again. Not only was his body not recovered from the last time, but he hated the feel of Hideaki's hands. He hated that his body seemed to want more. His mind and heart were at conflict with one another and he had no idea what to do about it. Thinking about it all the time and living in the fear that Hideaki would continue to take what he wanted from him was exhausting.

"Tagiru..." Gumdramon made to protest.

"Gumdramon, please," Tagiru said. "I don't want night to come. Please help me!"

Gumdramon sighed. "Ok, let's go."

He led Tagiru to the room. Tagiru felt every muscle in his body protesting as he helped Gumdramon push a few tables and chairs aside. The room was quite small with a bunch of small rectangular tables blocking something. In front of the tables, were a few chairs. It took a few minutes for the two of them to move them aside but they managed to do it.

Tagiru's eyeballs almost popped out of his sockets at what he saw. Hiroya...Mizuki...Kiichi...Kaoru...Miho...all of them were trapped in what looked like ice crystals. Tagiru shivered a little. Was all this Hideaki's doing or the person he worked under? He didn't know. He turned to Gumdramon. "Think you can melt the ice?"

Gumdramon nodded. "I'll do it."

It was a slow process, but they managed to have the ice melted. Tagiru kept an eye out for Hideaki but he didn't see him coming. He moved to help Hiroya who was shivering.

"Hiroya-kun, are you ok?" Tagiru asked, pushing aside his own pain to focus on the injured. "Mizuki-san, everyone, are you guys...? What happened?"

"Some scientists captured us," Hiroya explained, being the first one to be able to talk. "Then your friend Hideaki had us crystallised. What's wrong with him?"

"I'll tell you that once I figure it out myself," Tagiru muttered. "I'm glad you guys are alive."

"That's not all," Mizuki said, managing to speak up now that she had stopped shivering from the cold of being trapped in ice. "We may have been trapped but we could still hear and see everything that was going on. There's a backdoor exit in this room."

"A backdoor exit?" Tagiru said, his eyes lighting up. They knew where the exit was. They knew. His heart soared with hope. "Where?"

Kiichi peered at Tagiru. "Tagiru, what happened to you? You seem different."

Gumdramon shifted protectively in front of Tagiru. "He just wants to get out like the rest of you do! Is that so wrong?"

Tagiru winced. "Gumdramon, it's fine. I've been trapped here for awhile too, Kiichi that's all and some things happened. But it's ok. Let's just focus on getting out. Mizuki-san, please...lead us to the exit."

Mizuki nodded and they moved forward towards a back door.

"Come on, go before someone comes here," Mizuki said hurriedly, gently pushing Kiichi and Miho out. "Hiroya-kun you too. Tagiru-kun."

Tagiru moved forward, eager to escape and get out of here. As Hiroya went through, Tagiru made to follow but suddenly a cloth clamped over his mouth.

"Tagiru!" Kiichi cried, making to run back for him.

"Go!" Tagiru cried, feeling his vision blurring. "Hiroya-kun, please tell Yuu where I am and that Hideaki's hurting me!" He struggled a little more before falling limp.

Gumdramon struggled. When Hideaki had come in, he had thrown something at him, holding him down with ice crystals on either of his paws. He hadn't even had the time to shout out a warning. "Tagiru! Let him go you bastard! Oi, why are you guys just running away?" He saw the Hunters and Hiroya running. Tears from his frustration and helplessness welled up in his eyes but he pushed them back. "God, Yuu had better hurry up...or even I'm gonna start doubting the kid's loyalties." ***Can you somehow make the scene more dramatic, add more angst at Tagiru not being able to escape, maybe even show Kiichi (whose closest to Tagiru out of them) struggling to help but the other Hunters are scared and run away, not wanting to be captured again?***

Hiroya knew this was cowardice but Tagiru had wanted them to tell Yuu right? So it wasn't really that bad...was it? They were currently in a forest which was a little further away from where they had escaped from.

"Tagiru needs us!" Kiichi wailed, tears falling from his eyes. "Hideaki's a bad person now, he could be hurting him!"

"Hey calm down," Miho said, going over and gently placing her hands on Kiichi's shoulder. "I didn't want to leave him either, he helped Yuu-kun save me after all. But we need to tell Yuu-kun. Kaoru, Hiroya and I aren't Hunters or Generals so we would have been useless."

Kiichi whimpered, more tears falling. "It's still wrong...Tagiru wouldn't have given up on us that easily."

Mizuki sighed. "If I had Subarimon with me, I would have stayed to help him out."

Kaoru squirmed, looking quite guilty herself. "We should try finding Yuu-kun or one of his friends. It was wrong to leave him behind but we should make up for it by trying to have him rescued."

Hiroya nodded, before hearing screams nearby. "Hide, something's coming this way."

The others all moved to find hiding positions in the bushes.

Yuu watched the digimon screaming from afar from the torture Tsuwamon and SkullKnightmon were giving them. A small part of him squirmed and wanted to stop it, but he pushed it aside. However, he did stop as he saw someone familiar move in the bushes. "Whose there?"

Hiroya almost flinched but heard the familiar voice and peeked out. "Yuu-kun? Guys, it's ok! It's only Yuu-kun!"

The others slowly came out of their hiding spot.

Yuu scoffed. Like they needed any extra baggage on them. A lot of these people weren't even Hunters. They'd just be a burden. "Why did you guys come here? Some of you aren't even Hunters and Kiichi's useless even when he could be a valuable one."

Hiroya bristled. "What's with that attitude? We were captured by those creepy scientists that were behind everything! That's right, captured right out of our own homes."

Yuu stared at him coolly. "Is that meant to strike sympathy inside me?"

Hiroya was about to retort when Kiichi stepped in front of him timidly.

"Yuu-san, we're not asking for your sympathy," Kiichi said quietly. "But Tagiru does need it."

Yuu stopped as Kiichi mentioned Tagiru. His heart and head hurt all of a sudden. "Tagiru? Do you know where he is?"

Hiroya raised an eyebrow at this but Kiichi simply nodded.

"We were crystallised in ice crystals," Kiichi said. "Tagiru is the one that saved us. He was going to escape with us too but Hideaki came and captured him. He told us to get out so we could come find you. He's hurt, Yuu-san. I don't know what's going on with you, but if you care about Tagiru, save him before there's nothing left to save."

Fear struck Yuu like a case of whiplashes. What did Kiichi mean? "Kiichi, what did Hideaki do to him?"

Kiichi shook his head. "Tagiru just mentioned he'd been trapped there for awhile. We could tell it was more but he seemed a bit uncomfortable about it."

Yuu closed his eyes. "I need to get to him. SkullKnightmon-sama..."

SkullKnightmon frowned. "We haven't conquered this area yet."

Yuu shook his head. "I need to get to Tagiru. I told you I'd become your demon as long as Tagiru remains safe. I need to go to him now."

SkullKnightmon sighed. "I'm afraid I can't have that." He fused with DeadlyAxemon to become DarkKnightmon again.

DarkKnightmon brought his sword towards Yuu making to knock him out but Tsuwamon blocked it.

"Don't touch him," Tsuwamon said. "Yuu go! Go find Tagiru!"

Yuu's eyes widened. "I can't leave you!" He could feel the euphoria from earlier fading away, the desire to want to be cruel, to hurt people. Kiichi was right, Tagiru's safety was more important. He began to feel sick with himself, with the things he did. Would Tagiru forgive him? Or would he look at him with disgust? He felt like he would throw up. He looked at the all the bodies lying there and knew he had done all that. ***Feel free to add more to his thoughts and him slowly changing back to his old self***

Miho looked at Yuu. "Don't you have Blossomon?! You hunted her, right?"

Yuu shook his head miserably. "I didn't hunt her. Tagiru did." He had no other forces other than SuperStarmon. He cringed as Tsuwamon took another blow for him. If this kept up, he could...he could...the thought of losing Damemon too horrified him.

"Tsuwamon!" Yuu cried, rushing forward.

"S-Stay back, Yuu," Tsuwamon said, gritting his teeth and offering Yuu a smile to hide his own pain that he was feeling. "I'll always fight for you, remember that."

Yuu's eyes watered. Tsuwamon's condition wasn't good and it was all his fault. Again. There had to be something he could do to help! It was worth a try at any rate.

Yuu grasped the Darkness Loader and saw it beginning to change colour. It flickered between yellow and black, before settling into it's original bright yellow colour.

"Reload RookChessmon!" Yuu said. "Reload SuperStarmon! Please use your Star Army, SuperStarmon!"

"Got it!" SuperStarmon gave Yuu a thumbs up.

Yuu watched his partners warily. He hoped they could handle this...his fists clenched at the thought of anything otherwise.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Dragon Phoenix**

The main room in the building where Tagiru and the other prisoners had been held was the headquarters for the scientists. There was a large computer there and on the floor, a lot of equipment was there.

Kaito, the youngest was quite happy that they had seemed to get the King on their side thanks to Kuro disobeying orders. She was sitting on a computer chair with Kuro sitting besides her and she tousled his hair, beaming.

"You did so great, Kuro!" Kaito said happily. "The King's made more slaves than anyone."

Kuro giggled. "Although, Taiki-kun's friends know the truth now so they'll be a hindrance. We need to do something about them."

Taico, the oldest of them was typing things onto the computer. "They won't be able to do much. I've contacted Lucia. With her forces, they'll be no match against us."

"Oh Neechan is coming!" Kuro said jumping up and putting his hands together in glee. "This will be good. Should I go check on Taiki-kun? Make sure he's doing his work correctly?"

Taico shrugged. "I'm sure he's doing his work fine. Our subjects have gotten free though. I'm putting them under observation." He typed some things and the Hunters appeared on screen. He zoomed in on Mizuki and Kiichi. "These two will be interesting to bring back. Especially the girl. Kuro, you need to get Taiki-kun to lure them here before they return to the real world."

Kuro nodded. "Right!"

Taico smiled. "Good and Kaito, send Dorulumon's modified version after the other Generals and Hunters. Separate them. Divide and rule."

Kaito stood up and saluted. "You bet!" She frowned. "What about that dark knight?"

Taico hummed. "Leave those guys to Lucia and I. She has a plan."

Kaito frowned. "Hope ya know what you're doing. Don't get killed! Later!" She bounced out of the room.

Kuro laughed, following her.

Taico rolled his eyes as they left. Those guys were such idiots. He looked at Mizuki on the screen too. She seemed intelligent, confident, if not a little frightened. Of course she was…that's what made her an interesting subject in the first place. Oh yes, further experiments were definitely needed. He returned to his computer, making to start working.

Yuu cried out in alarm as Tsuwamon was thrown back, his data beginning to flicker in and out. The blond shivered. No, this couldn't be happening. He didn't want to be punished for his sins like this. Damemon, Nene, Tagiru…they shouldn't suffer because of him. Not because of his mistakes.

"Tsuwamon…oh god, please give me a way," Yuu whispered. "I want to fight with you please." His friends were being beaten mercilessly. He wanted to reach out and stop this. This was all his fault. It was always his fault…no. He shook his head. He needed to stop feeling sorry for himself. It was because of that he had joined DarkKnightmon in the first place. Nene had tried to stop him too. She had tried to talk sense into him. If he kept on standing here, feeling sorry for what he had done, he wouldn't be able to move forward.

"No, no more," Yuu said to himself as Tsuwamon was thrown back once more. "Tsuwamon! Let's fight together!"

A bright yellow light shone from his X-Loader, the same colour as his X-Loader was. The light was warm, comforting almost. The light shone brighter and a yellow bird appeared, a phoenix. The phoenix spread her wings, smiling down warmly at Yuu.

"Touch my light," The phoenix spoke to Yuu as the others tried to distract DarkKnightmon.

"What?" Yuu said, staring.

"Touch the light," The phoenix said again. "Both of you, touch the light."

The blond looked at Tsuwamon who nodded. The two of them reached out at the same time, allowing it to envelop them both.

Yuu raised his X-Loader, the phoenix being called into it. "Ultimate Xros!"

Human and digimon fused together and a new digimon appeared. "Shinobimon!"

Shinobimon looked like a raven with a yellow aura surrounding him.

"Yuu-kun," Miho stuttered impressed. "He combined with…"

"He combined with Tsuwamon," Hiroya stared at what was happening. "What is this power?"

Yuu felt really strange becoming one with Tsuwamon. "Tsuwamon…did we really become one?"

"Yeah, we did, your wish to fight with me made us DigiXros," Tsuwamon said. "Yuu? Let's fight together!"

Yuu laughed. "You got it Tsuwamon!" It felt nice having this new power.

With that, Shinobimon lunged at DarkKnightmon, aiming to kill or at least maim.

Tagiru coughed in pain as Hideaki threw him back into his room roughly while the guards had taken Gumdramon away, kicking and screaming.

"How dare you…how dare you defy me?" Hideaki said, practically shaking with rage.

Tagiru glowered through his pain. "I don't want to stay here, Hideaki! You can't make me!"

Hideaki grasped Tagiru by the shoulder. "Shut up!"

Tagiru cried out. It felt like Hideaki was trying to crush his shoulder blades beneath his fingers. He tried to bite his lip to keep him from screaming.

Hideaki pinned him against the ground. "You listen to me, Tagiru. You're mine, only mine." He leaned closer to Tagiru, almost too close to comfort, licking the shell of the other's earlobe. Tagiru let loose a shudder.

"No," Tagiru made to protest. "Not yours."

Hideaki smirked. "Aren't you? Well, let's see if your body agrees."

Tagiru's eyes widened and he desperately thrashed, trying to push Hideaki off. "No! No!" He didn't want to go through that again.

Hideaki slapped Tagiru, causing the other to flinch, before stroking Tagiru's cheek. "Stop making me use force. I hate ruining your pretty face like this."

Tagiru gritted his teeth. "Then stop hitting me." He squirmed more but Hideaki pressed a hand lightly against his throat.

Tagiru felt himself choke, losing focus momentarily and he found himself unable to do much as his vision blurred. He could see what Hideaki was doing but couldn't seem to stop him due to his inability to breathe or see properly. Even when Hideaki took his hand away, he was still a bit disoriented although felt his body being moved around.

 _No, no, I have to stop this._ He thought weakly. Where was Gumdramon? He squirmed again, trying to clear his vision and it began to somewhat but before he could do much, he gasped at the sudden sensation he felt. His head swirled, pain and pleasure mixing with it.

Hideaki laughed and leaned over to kiss Tagiru on the lips. "You love that, don't you?"

Tagiru flinched. "No…" He didn't understand. Why did he seem to like this?

Hideaki rolled his eyes. "You're such a bad liar." He moved again causing Tagiru to let out whimpers of both protest and pleasure. "You're mine."

As Hideaki continued his ministrations, Tagiru felt himself losing control. This loss of self-control scared…no, terrified him. His body seemed to be responding to everything Hideaki did and it seemed to only encourage the other to keep what he was doing.

Tagiru's eyes watered and tears fell down his cheeks. He shut his eyes, his arms falling limp at his sides. There was nothing he could do. Darkness was reaching for him and he just wanted to pass out and not think of this anymore. Sweet, comforting, darkness seemed to be the only way out. He gasped again at the unexpected pleasure before shivering. "S-stop…this is wrong, it's rape…"

Hideaki hummed. "Is it? You're clearly in denial that you want me. Give it up, Tagiru. Yuu doesn't love you. If he did, he would be doing this to you. He and Airu love each other."

Tagiru shook his head but had no strength to argue. "Please…stop…please."

Hideaki sighed in bliss, releasing him. "Alright, for now." He kissed Tagiru again. "But as punishment, you're not leaving this room or getting your clothes back."

Tagiru shivered as he felt Hideaki's fingers travel up his inner thighs, entering inside and gasped at the sudden intrusion. He whimpered, more tears falling. Get out, get out! Too tired to say anything out loud though, he let the darkness take him and he knew no more.

Kuro returned to where Taiki was sitting with Shoutmon in his room. "That was a close one, neh Taiki-kun? If you and the King hadn't returned here, then they might have attacked you."

Shoutmon scoffed, his eyes cold. "I could have taken them. I am the King."

Kuro giggled. "Maybe so but we can't risk our most precious allies, can we?" He stroked Taiki's cheek and the other subconsciously leaned into the touch.

"Of course, Kuro-sama," Taiki said blankly. "What's our next mission?"

"Mizuki-kun, Kiichi-kun, bring them here," Kuro said simply. "They trust you so just bring them to the Headquarters. Taico-kun is rather interested in the girl and the boy, he's simply an interesting subject."

Taiki stared at Kuro. "I will do so, Kuro-sama. Will Shoutmon be going with me?"

Kuro shook his head. "We need him to conquer some zones so he'll be working on that. As the Digimon King, it's a lot easier for him to get everything in our control. You'll do that for us, won't you Shoutmon?"

Shoutmon shrugged. "Course. Anything to help our cause."

Kuro giggled. "That's good. That's very good. Let's get to it then!"

Gumdramon struggled wildly as the guards threw him into another room, locking it and he glowered at them, trying to get out. "You'll pay for this! I need to get to Tagiru!"

The guard laughed from outside. "Unfortunately, Hideaki wants to punish your friend alone."

Gumdramon felt his blood turn cold. Punish him? What was Hideaki going to do? There had to be something he could do for Tagiru. Tagiru had seemed so desperate to get out of here but those…those bastards had just left him here to Hideaki's mercy. Was anyone coming for him, for them? He didn't know but someone needed to. Tagiru was broken enough and if Hideaki hurt him again, there was no telling what it would do to his mental condition.

He banged his fists helplessly against the door. "Someone please help my friend…"

"You'll hurt yourself if you do that," A small voice said and Gumdramon blinked.

"Who said that?" Gumdramon said, a little defensively.

Something moved in the dark room and Gumdramon peered closer to see a young girl, who looked even younger than Tagiru sitting there. She had short brown hair, tied up in two blobs above her head. At least they looked like blobs to Gumdramon.

The little girl giggled. "Well, aren't you defensive? Name's Amano Kotone. So how'd you get trapped here?"

Gumdramon blinked. "Amano huh? You a cousin or something of Yuu's?"

Kotone laughed. "Oh, you know Niisan huh? He's my dork of a brother. Do you know Neesan too?"

"Nene?" Gumdramon said and Kotone nodded. "Yeah, I know her. How'd you end up trapped here?"

Kotone shook her head, looking a bit confused. "I don't know. Last thing I remember was Neesan and Niisan crying. I was falling asleep and when I woke up, I was here. Maybe I got kidnapped. Dunno." She yawned. "Kinda wanna go back to sleep but you look beat bad."

Gumdramon scowled. "I'm fine! This is nothing. It's Tagiru I'm worried about! He's being tortured out there and I promised to protect him."

Kotone pondered that for a moment, before getting to her feet. "Ok then I'm helping ya! Wanna see my siblings again and can't do that if I sleep on the job right?"

Gumdramon stared. "You sure you're related to Yuu, kid?"

"I'm not that little!" Kotone protested when Gumdramon called her a kid. "And yeah I am. Long story though. Now, are we gonna work together or what? Your friend needs our help right?"

Gumdramon nodded. "Yeah, but we're locked inside here."

Kotone shrugged, moving forward and pulling a hair pin out of her hair, beginning to pick the lock. "I used to always pick really hard locks with my friends so this should be a piece of cake."

Gumdramon grinned, in spite of the situation. "I like your style!"

The Xros-Heart group was walking in the forest. Nene was besides Kiriha and Akari looked a bit better. They had made the plan to go search for Taiki and Yuu, since Taiki was clearly being controlled and Yuu wasn't doing so well either, considering the damage he had caused in the digital world. Beelzebumon and Mervamon had led them to the other digimon, which was a big help having their partners there.

Ryouma reached over, grasping Airu's hand as she had been rather quiet. "Airu, talk to me."

Airu smiled a little. "There's nothing to talk about, Ryouma. I'm alright. Really."

Ryouma sighed, not wanting to push but at the same time being worried about her. He glanced at Ren who shrugged.

"Leave her be for awhile," Ren said. "She's tough, she'll get through it man. We know our best friend better than that."

Ryouma rolled his eyes. Yes, that was Ren with the emotional tact of a teaspoon. He glanced at Airu once though and decided not to push for now. Ren had a point. Airu was strong. She'd come around to acceptance in her own time and maybe things would get better between her and Yuu. He glanced around at the others and saw Kiriha talking to Akari about what they should do about Taiki while Zenjirou spoke quietly to Nene, trying to give her some reassurance.

Everyone seemed to be worried about the situation at hand and he was too. There was no sign of where Tagiru could be and Yuu was probably still out, wreaking havoc. And now Taiki was being controlled? Sheesh, the Power Trio really was out of commission huh? He hoped they would be able to get back up before things got worse than they already were.


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey everyone! What's up? Yeah, I took longer updating this time, so sorry. But yeah, I'm going to try and delve a bit into the heads of the character's we haven't gone into, namely our Rival Trio of Ryouma, Ren and Airu. This uses the prompt 'fortunate' and this chapter gets better. Who wants to yay with me about that? The character 'Koori' belongs to Aiko Isari, who was kind enough to allow me to use him for this fic. Thanks Aiko! This chapter is thus dedicated to you._

 **Chapter 11: One Step Closer**

Ryouma was keeping guard in the forest. They had decided to camp out in the middle of the forest because everyone was tired of walking. He saw Ren talking to Airu, trying to cheer her up while Nene was sleeping, having her head on Kiriha's shoulder. Akari and Zenjirou were also cuddled side by side. A part of Ryouma did wonder how they could be so relaxed at a time like this but at the same time, they needed to relax a little so they didn't fall asleep on the job. It had been tough finding this spot as DarkKnightmon had conquered most areas of the digital world.

He should probably get a little rest too but since he was useless in all other aspects, he should at least be able to warn the others if things went wrong. He heard some noise in the bushes and tensed. Was someone coming for them after all? He made to walk to Ren and Airu but noticed the two had also fallen asleep against the tree.

The silver-haired boy didn't know what to do. He knew he shouldn't leave the others unguarded like this so maybe he should wake Ren up. Ryouma went, shaking Ren a little bit. "Ren…Ren, wake up."

Ren stirred. "Ryouma, what's wrong?"

"I hear something," Ryouma said quietly. "Can you stay and watch guard while I go check it out?"

Ren frowned. "Sure, man but I've got Dracmon, shouldn't I go?"

Ryouma shrugged. "I'm not going to go far. I'll be right back."

Ren sighed. "Fine, if you're not back in five I'll send someone after you."

Ryouma rolled his eyes, a smirk making it's way onto his face. "Hen."

Ren flushed, playfully glaring at his friend. "Yeah, yeah you'll thank me for it later."

Ryouma laughed and went on ahead. He didn't get far when he saw a boy around his age stumbling around. The silver-boy frowned.

The other boy had brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, a tall boy who was slightly taller than him.

"Hey," Ryouma moved towards the boy. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah I-I'm f-fine," The boy stuttered. "C-can y-you h-help m-me? S-someone's t-trying t-to h-hurt m-me."

Ryouma frowned. "Who? You don't look so good." The boy had bruises and scars all over his body.

The boy laughed weakly. "M-my p-partner…e-enjoys t-the H-hunt…w-we've b-been h-hiding f-from h-him."

Ryouma nodded. "I'm not all that useful but I'm sure my friends will be more than glad to protect you. I'm Ryouma."

"M-my n-name's K-Koori," The boy stuttered out.

Ryouma smiled. "Follow me then. You'll be safe with us." 'If we manage to stay together for much long' he added in his head but didn't say anything out loud. No need to scare the already worried boy too much. He made a motion and Koori followed him back.

Ren blinked, seeing the new person. "Whose that?"

Ryouma shrugged. "His name's Koori. He's being hunted by his partner."

Ren snorted. "I thought humans were meant to do the Digimon Hunting."

Ryouma twisted Ren's ear, sighing. "Ren, behave yourself."

Ren pouted. "What? It's true!"

Ryouma rolled his eyes, glancing at Koori. "Sorry about Ren. I'm still trying to teach him how to behave in public."

Ren glowered at him. "Oi, I can behave perfectly fine in public!"

Koori giggled. "Y-you t-two m-must b-be r-really g-good f-friends."

Ryouma blinked and then laughed. "We've been friends for awhile so I guess we are. It's definitely fun to tease him."

Ren scowled at him and Ryouma just rolled his eyes again although the two of them went silent as they heard Airu mumbling.

Ryouma frowned, moving to sit besides her and taking her hand. He wasn't the greatest person to comfort someone but he wanted Airu to know he was there. He wasn't Yuu, he knew but he had a feeling right now he didn't need to be. He let Ren deal with Koori for the moment as he allowed himself to get some shut-eye besides Airu.

Yuu fell down exhausted, Tsuwamon catching him. That battle had taken a lot out of him. They had managed to get DarkKnightmon to retreat but he knew there was no way he could defeat the dark knight on his own.

Tsuwamon also dedigivolved back to Damemon and plopped down besides his partner, grinning at him. "We did great Yuu!"

Yuu managed a small yet weary smile. "Yeah we did, didn't we? But…he's not gone. And we still haven't found Tagiru. We're not even halfway."

Damemon pouted. "Yuu, didn't Tagiru teach anyone about thinking positive? We forced DarkKnightmon to retreat! We'll save Tagiru too!"

Yuu laughed a little at the pout on Damemon's face. Although he did have a point, Tagiru always thought positive. Taiki-san too…just because his friends weren't here didn't mean anything.

 _I'm not going to give up!_ Yuu thought firmly, clenching his fists. His thoughts then drifted to his sister. He shivered, remembering the helpless look in her eyes. He had to go back to her, to apologise to her, to Airu. But at the same time, Tagiru needed him.

 _I don't want to fight alone, I don't want to be alone anymore._ He let out an exhausted yawn. He needed help. He couldn't fight alone anymore. Xros Heart was a team after all. Even if they were separated right now, they could become united as one if they just tried.

"Damemon?" Yuu said quietly. "I want to go back to Neesan. I need to apologise, tell her about the power of the Dragon Phoenix and we can find a way to save Tagiru with our powers combined."

Damemon beamed at his partner. "Finally you come to your senses! I thought I'd have to hit you with my tonfa's to get you to stop being so down on yourself."

Yuu turned pink, pouting at his best Digital friend. "Not nice, Damemon."

Damemon just laughed. "Let's go!"

The two began searching for the others. It took a lot of walking and even though Damemon was trying to sniff out constantly. Apparently, his sister's scent was harder to track then he had thought. The two of them just arrived to the scene as soon as the others were waking up. There was also a new person there but Yuu took no notice of him as he cleared his throat.

Nene turned towards him, her eyes widening and she stepped forward slowly. "Y-Yuu?"

Yuu rubbed the back of his head, giving her a sheepish smile. "S-sorry Neesan." His voice choked a little as he said this.

Nene shook her head, before walking over to Yuu, raising a hand and striking him across the face.

"N-neesan," Yuu choked out, touching his cheek and making to apologise again when Nene pulled him into an embrace.

"Idiot," Nene said, her eyes watering, a few tears cascading down her cheeks as she stroked her brother's hair gently. "You ever scare me like that again and you're grounded."

Yuu returned the embrace, tears falling down his own cheeks and he shook in the hug slightly. He managed a weak nod. Being in his sister's embrace made him feel like a small child again. He felt protected, safe. Like no one could reach here and hurt him or throw him to the darkness.

Nene pulled away slightly and took out issue, drying her little brother's tears. "I'm glad you're back. I thought…"

Yuu shook his head. "I'll always come back to you, Neesan." He smiled a little. "But I won't leave again, Neesan, promise."

Nene smiled. "Good. How did you come back?"

Yuu suddenly turned white. "Oh god, Hiroya-kun and the others…they were blasted back by DarkKnightmon during the battle, I hope they're okay. I was so exhausted from the battle that it just slipped my mind."

Nene frowned. "Hiroya-kun? He isn't a General or a Hunter. What is he doing here?"

"They were kidnapped from their own homes for some sort of experimentation," Yuu said, recalling. "I wasn't too sympathetic back then due to the darkness but I do remember that. They escaped though and…" His voice choked a little as he said the next part. "Tagiru helped them."

"Tagiru?" Ryouma said stepping forward. "Is he alright?"

Yuu shook his head. "I don't think so…Kiichi-kun said to save him before there's nothing left to save."

Kiriha grimaced. "Then we need to hurry, maybe find Hiroya-kun and the others too so they can help us."

"They're hurt already," Yuu said shifting. "Kiichi-kun looked terrified as well." He exhaled through his nose, before finally looking at Airu. "Airu…I'm sorry."

Airu gave a weak smile. "You were just worried about Tagiru right?"

Yuu nodded. "Yeah, I still am but it's not just that…Tagiru, he sacrificed everything to make sure I wouldn't die and before he was taken away, he…he kissed me." He touched his lips, remembering Tagiru's lips on his own. It was the last time he had seen him, felt him that close to him. His face flushed a little, just thinking about the kiss.

"Oh Yuu," Nene murmured, pulling him close again.

Airu's face seemed to be unreadable. "Oh. Do you love him then?"

Yuu's face flushed even more and he curled in closer to his sister. "I don't know, I think so. I always think about him. Even before all this, I always worry about whether he's okay or not. I worry about others too, but he's always the first person on my mind." He didn't really understand the concept of romantic love. He had cared about Airu definitely, but enough to call it love? He didn't know if he could say that. "Neesan…"

Nene couldn't help but giggle despite the situation. "You love him but don't let me tell you that. When you hold him in your arms, you'll feel the passion." She winked at Kiriha. "Personal experience talking."

"O-oi," Kiriha muttered, flushing red causing Nene to laugh more.

Yuu smiled and shook his head at them a little before turning back to Airu, his face falling slightly. "Sorry Airu…"

Airu shook her head. "I'm fine. Really I'm fine, Yuu-kun. I can handle myself, don't worry about me."

Ryouma hesitated before reaching over and taking her hand whilst Ren followed and took the other. Airu rested her head on Ryouma's shoulder, not noticing the way Koori glowered at her especially when Ryouma blushed at the action.

Yuu gave Ryouma a half-smile before nodding. "That's not all, Neesan. We have a new power."

"A really strong power!" Damemon chimed in.

Yuu quickly gave a brief of the power of the Dragon Phoenix. Both Kiriha and Nene were staring at him, their eyes wide.

"That power sounds incredible," Kiriha said. "It may be just what we need to turn the tide of the battle in our favour, very fortunate. And bring Taiki to his senses."

"D-do y-you m-mean K-Kudo T-Taiki?" Koori stuttered out, finally speaking.

Ryouma blinked. "Yeah, why?"

"I escaped the scientists who have him captured and brainwashed," Koori said, managing to talk without stuttering for the first time, although his gaze was directed at the floor. "Y-your partners are prime targets for the ADO scientists."

"Wait, what?" Nene said. "ADO?"

"Anti-Digimon Organisation," Koori replied. "The Anti-Human Organisation is working to find a way to the real world to extract r-revenge. That's why…that's why my partner wants to kill me."

Yuu grimaced. "And Hideaki's working for the ADO too."

Koori looked up, blinking at Yuu. "You don't work for the ADO."

Yuu looked befuddled. "Eh?!"

Koori shrugged. "They're using him because he has some kind of power. T-they don't just hire anyone."

Kiriha's eyes narrowed. "How do you know so much about them anyway?"

Koori flinched back behind Ryouma at the coldness of the other's tone and Ryouma frowned.

"Kiriha-san," Ryouma said. "He's trying to help us."

Nene reached over, taking Kiriha's hand and Kiriha stopped. He caught the look in her eyes. She didn't trust them either but it was the best they had right now.

"Tagiru-kun and Taiki-kun need our help, remember?" Nene said and Kiriha sighed.

"Right. Sorry," Kiriha said motioning for Koori to continue.

Koori looked at Ryouma who nodded.

"I can lead you guys there," Koori offered. "Ryouma did save me from my partner after all."

"That would be great," Ryouma said, absently playing with Airu's ponytail without realizing it.

Yuu nodded as well. "It really would be." He didn't know who this person was, but at the same time, the thought of seeing Tagiru again outweighed that above anything. _Hang in there, Tagiru. I'm almost there._

"I did it!" Kotone said happily managing to pick the lock successfully.

"Shhh!" Gumdramon hushed her. "Someone will hear us!"

Kotone gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, got excited. Haven't seen Niisan and Neesan in forever. They probably think I'm dead or something!"

Gumdramon stared. "How can you be so casual about that? Your sister probably misses you a lot."

Kotone shrugged. "Neesan has Yuu. It was her choice to save him over me. But it's ok. I don't hate her for it or anything." A flicker of sadness appeared in Kotone's eyes but she pushed it away. Now was not the time to think about stupid things. She needed to save Yuu's boyfriend or whatever he was.

"You ok?" Gumdramon asked, noting her silence.

Kotone grinned. "I'm always okay! Let's go." She turned to Gumdramon. "So where's your friend?"

Before Gumdramon could say anything, they heard guards coming.

Kotone grabbed Gumdramon, pulling him back into the room they were in and crouching low to avoid being seen. Fortunately, the guard walked right past them in his usual monitoring.

"Stay really quiet and lead me to your friend," Kotone said in a low voice.

Gumdramon just nodded, doing so and they had almost made it in when Hideaki appeared in front of the door.

"Trying to be cheeky again aren't we?" Hideaki said humming.

Kotone bristled. "Back off. That's my big brother's precious person in there, you jerk!"

Gumdramon didn't say anything. Not this time. He simply raised himself up ramming his tail roughly into Hideaki's stomach.

Hideaki gasped, coughing, disoriented clearly having not expected the hit. He made to send an attack but Kotone jumped up, striking him in the neck.

The hit against his pressure point was too much for Hideaki as he swayed backwards and forwards before passing out.

Gumdramon whistled. "Nice shot there, Kotone!"

Kotone snorted. "You weren't too bad yourself. Let's go." She had caught Hideaki's body dragging it inside with her and setting it down so it wouldn't make much noise.

Gumdramon followed, his eyes widening as he saw Tagiru lying there. He was covered in a thin white sheet and even that was stained with blood. He rushed over to his friend. "Tagiru…"

Tagiru stirred a little, opening his eyes. "Gumdramon…"

"Hey man," Gumdramon said with a weak grin. "What? Did you think I'd never come back?"

Tagiru's eyes watered. "H-he did it again, Gumdramon. I wished you were there to stop him…"

Gumdramon flinched. "He's a coward. He locked me up in another room."

"He's a big coward," Kotone said crouching down besides them.

Tagiru blinked blearily at her, subconsciously tightening the white sheet around his body. "Who…who are you?"

Kotone laughed. "I'm Kotone Amano. Your boyfriend's little sister." She winked.

Tagiru subconsciously flushed. "He…he's not my boyfriend."

Kotone blinked. "Oh? But you love him."

Tagiru shook his head. "I dunno what I feel anymore…Yuu never…he never mentioned you."

Kotone shrugged. "Niisan probably thinks I'm dead. Long story. But forget that. We're going to try and get out ok? Gumdramon will fight off the guards and I know good techniques to knock people out."

Tagiru blinked but didn't ask although his eyes lit up a little. "Can we really get out? Last time I tried…Hid…he punished me for it a lot."

Kotone winked. "You didn't have my help last time." She smiled. "Look ya may not be sure of what you feel for my dopey brother, but if you're his friend, you're important to him. So yer important to me too cause of that. I know you're thinking…why didn't he save you?" She shrugged. "I dunno but he probably couldn't. But I bet you he'll still try. He's silly like that."

Tagiru stared at the little girl. For such a small child, she sure was wise. Finally he let a small, weak smile appear on his face. "Ok. I wanna get out anyway. But…I can't really walk." His face flushed in shame as he said this.

Kotone frowned. "That is a bit of a problem. Can you crawl on your hands with your friend's support if you fall?"

Tagiru blinked at the idea of crawling. "I can try to."

Kotone grinned. "Good, let's get to it then!"

Mizuki coughed as she regained consciousness. The battle's impact had sent her and Kaoru flying in a different direction from the others and now they were in a really dark area with mini-TV creatures walking around almost looking like zombies.

The redhead shivered. The sight looked horrible. She wished Submarimon were here with her.

Mizuki pushed this thought aside, forcing herself to her feet to check on Kaoru. The girl was unconscious and a rather nasty gash running down her leg. That wasn't good…it didn't look like Kaoru would be able to walk on that leg for a good while. The redhead ripped off the sleeves of her shirt, using them to pressure Kaoru's wound. The zombie-like TV creatures weren't doing anything to them so that was good. Mizuki really didn't want to tempt fate and have them be attacked while they were defenseless.

"Awww feeling worried little girl?" A voice said and Mizuki looked around as Taico appeared in front of her.

Mizuki tensed, recognizing him as the person who had kidnapped her from the safety of her own home. She shifted into a protective stance in front of Kaoru wincing as a sharp pain ran down her own body. Ok, maybe she wasn't as uninjured as she thought.

"What do you want?" Mizuki said trying to keep her voice firm although it shook. She couldn't help it! The guy terrified her to the core, considering all he had done to her and her friends.

Taico stepped closer, grasping a hold of Mizuki by the chin. "You, my dear."

Mizuki shuddered, yanking herself away from him. "Keep your grubby hands off of me!"

Taico seized her by the wrists with both hands, pulling her closer again. "Don't worry Mizuki-san. I won't kidnap you right now." He leaned closer to her, so close that she could almost feel his breath tickling her ear. "You will serve an amazing purpose for me after all. But don't worry, you'll be in so much power then, that you won't even question it." He let go of her wrist with one hand, using that hand to pull down her ponytail and stroke her hair. "So pretty."

Mizuki flinched violently at this action, her body kicking and thrashing at her tormentor. However, as suddenly as he had grabbed her, he let her go causing her to lose her balance and hit the ground.

Taico laughed. "See you around, my princess." He then disappeared.

Mizuki wrapped her arms around herself to try and get the fear away as well as to get her racing heartbeat under control. _Nothing happened. I'm fine._ If she was fine though, then why did she feel so uneasy?


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay, while I have started more WIPs, I am not neglecting this one for that. This is my work for Nano, my pride, my joy, my baby, almost and gods I'm going to miss this one when it's over, but hey there will be sequels and Tagiru and Yuu will be happier in those so yeah! Anyway, the prompt for this is 'remarkable'. These chapters are getting more positive as they get going, yay!_

 **Chapter 12: Reunited at Last**

Yuu looked around at the place they had arrived in. Koori had used some sort of portal to bring them here. Kiriha was right. It was suspicious, almost too suspicious at how much this person knew about these guys. He glanced at Ryouma who simply shrugged his shoulders causing the blond to sigh. Well, it wasn't like they had much choice right now. Gosh, there were so many rooms in here though so where was Tagiru?

"Yuu, where's Tagiru?" Damemon said.

Yuu frowned. "I'm not sure Damemon."

"Search within your heart," The familiar voice of the Dragon Phoenix spoke once more to him.

Nene blinked. "Yuu, what's that voice?"

Yuu smiled. "Don't worry, Neesan. This is just the Dragon Phoenix. It's a bit hard to explain."

"Someone's coming," Ryouma said. They made to find a place to hide but Kuro stepped out before they actually could do much.

"Oh you guys made it soon!" Kuro said so gleefully that it caused Yuu to raise an eyebrow at his lack of concern about them being here. The other seemed to notice his surprise and giggled. "Oh I'm not worried about you being here, you can just watch us conquer this world and brainwash all humans and digimon to think the way we do! Neh Koori did you tell them everything?"

Koori flinched and Yuu noticed the boy turned pale, stuttering out something incomprehensible under his breath.

Kuro just giggled. "Uh-oh did I say something wrong?"

"Kuro," Kaito sighed exasperated at the boy. "You're talking too much again."

Kuro pouted. "But it's fun talking to new people and they're Taiki-kun's old friends too!"

Akari bristled. "Where is Taiki, you bastard?" She almost lunged but Zenjirou grabbed her hand.

"Akari-kun, stay calm," Zenjirou said, squeezing her hand even more as an army of Digimon entered there, amongst them, Dorulumon and Cutemon.

"Damemon," Yuu said looking at him although swayed a little, causing Nene to catch him.

"Yuu, you're still tired, let the others handle it," Damemon said worried.

Nene agreed. "Yeah, Yuu we'll handle it." She reloaded Sparrowmon, Mervamon and Beelzebumon seeing Kiriha's Digimon already beginning to fight.

"I know my way around here since I was captured here," Koori said to Yuu. "I can help you search for your friend."

Yuu nodded. "Okay, Ryouma come with us ok?"

Ryouma frowned, glancing at Airu once who looked at him giving him a small smile. That was enough for Ryouma to make his decision and he followed Yuu with Koori. The place was rather big though and it seemed Tagiru was being kept rather far away. No guards seemed to be in sight, in fact no one was there. The situation seemed perfect, almost too perfect and that was alarming.

Yuu's first thought was that they were walking directly into a trap but he was saved from thinking further on this as someone, the last person he had expected to see stepped out. His eyes widened to an almost impossible size...how was this possible? He rubbed his eyes to make sure he really was seeing what he was. Kotone, was it really her? But she was...his heart clenched as he remembered the look of betrayal on her face when Nene had chosen to run towards him instead of going to save her. This must be some kind of illusion...he...they had seen DarkKnightmon slash through Kotone's body with his weapon then how? Pushing these thoughts aside, he stepped forward, seeing Tagiru crawling with Gumdramon's help behind her. His heart clenched seeing Tagiru's condition, seeing him crawling, wearing only a thin white sheet. Had Hideaki...? God, it seemed like it, he really was too late. If only he hadn't listened to DarkKnightmon...again, maybe he could have gotten here in time. Why was he always too late to save the people he loved, to help them?

Kotone caught sight of Yuu however and ran tackling her brother into a hug. "Niisan!"

Yuu snapped out of his thoughts, wrapping his arms around her to keep the both of them from falling. His eyes watered, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. "Kotone..."

Kotone lightly slapped him on the arm. "Oh, you big dork, don't cry."

"B-but…"

Kotone slapped him on the arm again, this time a little harder.

"If you cry now, who's gonna pick up his pieces?" Kotone said, gesturing at Tagiru.

Yuu blinked, his eyes wandering towards Tagiru who looked at him owlishly. The blond flinched at the blankness in those eyes and wondered what Hideaki had done other than the obvious.

His blood boiled and his hands balled into fists, his knuckles turning white. He exhaled through his nose and looked at Kotone, trying to remain calm. No, he needed to remain calm no matter what. "Neesan's here, too. She'll be happy to see you."

That was an understatement but it was the best he could come up with in the spur of the moment.

Kotone smiled, shaking her head and nudging Yuu towards Tagiru.

Yuu moved towards Tagiru, touching his hand gently. However, this caused Tagiru to flinch back violently. The blond quickly pulled away, not wanting to make Tagiru uncomfortable.

 _Idiot!_ Yuu berated himself. _Tagiru's just been raped and God knows what else?_

As their eyes met, Yuu felt his heart catch in his throat. He shivered. There was so much emptiness in Tagiru's eyes. They were hollow, as if Tagiru weren't really looking at Yuu, but straight through him. Tagiru was supposed to be full of passion, fire, and life… But right now he had none of that. He was so empty… An empty doll… Broken… Mangled…

 _Hideaki, what have you done?_

"Tagiru?" Yuu said gently.

Tagiru tilted his head to look at him. "You're late."

Yuu flinched. How could such simple words be so cold? Late was a small word to describe it. However, he pushed his guilt aside. Guilt wouldn't help Tagiru recover. "Yeah...I'm sorry."

Tagiru blinked. "You're alive. Don't be sorry for that."

Yuu almost reached out for Tagiru again but then thought better of it and pulled back. "Tagiru? Can I carry you out?"

Tagiru stared. "You're...you're asking permission? Hideaki never asked permission before he raped me..."

Yuu cringed at the bluntness of that statement while Kotone bristled. The blond didn't know what hurt more at this point: how casually Tagiru talked about his own pain or the fact that he was shocked at him asking permission. His eyes watered again, threatening to pour but he managed to compose himself. Tagiru needed him to be strong. Kotone was right. If he broke down, then who was going to pick up the pieces from Hideaki's destruction?

"I'm not Hideaki," Yuu said quietly. "Your permission, your consent, it's important to me. I won't lay a finger on you, if you tell me no."

Tagiru didn't reply and Yuu almost thought he wouldn't until he spoke softly, "Yeah. You can carry me out."

Yuu almost smiled at that, his heart flooding with relief, and he leaned over, picking Tagiru gently up in his arms.

"Yuu?" Gumdramon's voice made Yuu look back down at the little dragon.

"Yeah?" the blond said.

"Thanks for not proving Hideaki right," Gumdramon said.

The digimon turned away before Yuu could say anything else, moving next to Damemon who gave him a concerned glance.

Yuu blinked, his heart clenching painfully at that for some reason. What did Hideaki say that made Gumdramon think that? Did he convince them that Yuu wouldn't come to save them?

"Oh, he'll have no choice in that matter," a voice said, causing Tagiru to flinch and move closer to Yuu.

The blond tightened his grip around Tagiru, his eyes flashing as he saw Hideaki getting up. Rage boiled in his stomach and his hands trembled, tempted to wrap them around the bastard's throat and strangle him to death. The only thing that was stopping him right now was Tagiru trembling in his arms.

"What's the matter, Yuu?" Hideaki taunted. "Why didn't you come when Tagiru was so desperate for you?" He licked his lips. "He was amazing you know. And he will always remember the pleasure we had together. No matter what you do, Tagiru will never escape my touch. It'll always be on him. And if you're smart, you'll hand him over and leave quietly."

Yuu didn't speak. He didn't think he could, not right now. He moved away from Tagiru, laying him against the wall.

"Kotone." Yuu's voice was calm, much too calm. It was almost deadly actually. "Watch Tagiru."

Kotone, seeing the look in his eyes, simply nodded, falling to her knees besides Tagiru and grasping his hand. Surprisingly, he didn't flinch away from her.

Yuu looked at Hideaki with a calm gaze. "I must not be very smart then." He punched Hideaki across the face and watched as he fell backward with a cry of pain.

Hideaki clutched his nose with wide eyes, bending over in pain. Blood stained his hands as he struggled to stand. "You broke my fucking nose, you bastard!"

"I could say the same," Yuu said.

He lunged at Hideaki who charged at the same time. They grabbed each other and grappled, falling to the floor. Yuu kicked Hideaki in the chest and quickly fell on top of him.

"This is for Tagiru," Yuu hissed through clenched teeth.

He raised his fist and punched Hideaki across the face. "You bastard! Go"—Yuu punched him again—"to hell!"

Kotone covered Tagiru's eyes but the brunette stopped her. His eyes were wide, trained on Hideaki's bruised and bleeding face. "No… I want to watch."

Hideaki was left a mumbling mess as he rolled over onto his knees, clutching his face. "You…bastar'…"

Yuu kicked him in the ribs and placed his foot none-too-gently on Hideaki's chest. "You will never go near Tagiru again."

He kicked Hideaki's face and the other fell unconscious.

Kotone whistled. "Nice shot, big bro."

Yuu was breathing heavily, in and out to calm himself down. Once he felt he was composed enough, he returned to Tagiru and Kotone's side. "You ok?"

A faint, very faint smile graced Tagiru's lips. "Now I am. T-thank you."

Yuu shook his head. "Don't mention it. Let's get out of here ok?" He reached out to pick Tagiru in his arms and the other curled close obediently. This made the blond smile and he looked at Kotone, before at Ryouma and Koori both of whom had stayed on the sidelines the whole time.

Ryouma nodded but Koori frowned.

"We should hide Hideaki-kun's body somewhere," Koori said. "Ryouma-kun, can you help me?"

Ryouma shrugged. "Sure, why not? Yuu, you guys go ahead."

Yuu hesitated. "Are you sure?" He didn't really trust Koori, even if he had led them this far.

Ryouma nodded. "Yeah, go on ahead."

Yuu exchanged glances with Kotone before nodding to Ryouma. "If you're not back within 10, we'll come back for you ok?"

Ryouma smiled a little. "Ok, thanks."

Watching Yuu and Kotone leave with Tagiru and their digimon was almost a perfect opportunity. Koori smiled at Ryouma.

"Shall we?" Koori said, dragging Hideaki into the room he had kept Tagiru, waiting for Ryouma to follow. "I'll just make sure he stays inside." He made some movements.

Ryouma watched him, although his movements were done so quick that it was fairly well-hidden. Once he moved away, Koori locked Hideaki in the cupboard locking it and smiled.

Ryouma blinked. "Are we done?"

Koori paused. "Unfortunately not, Ryouma-kun." He moved forward, suddenly, clamping a cloth over Ryouma's mouth.

Ryouma's eyes widened and he squirmed, but soon fell limp causing Koori to catch him.

Koori hummed. "Don't worry, Ryouma-kun. I'll take good care of you." He pulled out a Black Xros Loader. "Reload, Psychemon."

Psychemon sniffed the air. "Really? You took this long."

Koori shrugged. "I couldn't let him become too suspicious after all."

"What about Hideaki?" Psychemon said. "They'll ask about him."

Koori waved it off. "Hideaki's useless to them now, they won't ask too much." He waved a hand and the door they had entered from vanished from sight. "Not to mention it'd ruin my plans for Hideaki to go free since he'd go after that boy and that'd lead them back here. You need to go deal with the other boy though. Ren, I think the name was. Him and the pretty blond girl will be worried, make sure they can't find Ryouma-kun."

Psychemon nodded. "Of course!" The door was still visible to Koori and Psychemon's sight so the digimon went through it.

Koori hummed, laying Ryouma down on the ground before going back to get some stuff. He pulled out a syringe, filling a green-fluid inside it before kneeling besides Ryouma and injecting it into his arm and stroking his cheek.

"I'm doing this all for you," Koori said in his ear and the other stirred, squirming a little. "Shh...go back to sleep."

Ryouma tried to murmur out a protest but darkness took him and he fell into a state of unconsciousness again.

"Zeke Flame!" ZekeGreymon's attack shot back a numerous number of the army, making a fair few cracks in the wall. His opponent was a Demon Lord, Demon and the battle was evenly matched. Almost as evenly matched as if he were having a battle with a Death General like Gravimon. They needed Taiki, they needed the Final Xros. The battle was much too even to be comforting.

Kiriha shielded Nene from the debris flying everywhere, grimacing at the sight. JetMervamon was thrown back from a blast by LadyDevimon, crashing against the wall.

"JetMervamon!" Nene ran to her partner's side. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," JetMervamon grunted. "I'm fine, Nene. Get back. This could get dangerous."

Nene nodded, obediently stepping back whilst Zenjirou pulled Akari back further not wanting her to take the brunt of any attack. The redhead surprisingly listened most likely because she didn't have an army to fight with here.

"Oh this isn't fun anymore," Kuro said with a pout. "Devimon, LadyDevimon retreat for now and continue searching for Taiki-kun's team. We'll have a proper battle later."

With that, Kuro and his army retreated while Kaito who had been watching amused, smiled a little.

"He always did have a lack of patience," Kaito said giggling, knowing that sounded hypocritical coming from her and glanced at the group assembled. "Don't worry, soon most of our battles will be held in your world. You lot must have something special after all."

Nene glowered at her and Kaito giggled more before following after Kuro.

"Gods, she grates my very last nerve," Nene muttered.

"Neesan!" A very familiar voice called out, albeit she hadn't heard the voice in years.

Nene's eyes widened, filling with tears. Were her ears decieving her? Oh god, she hoped not. Slowly she turned, instantly embracing her precious little sister in her arms. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her whole body trembled. She tightened her grip around Kotone, stroking her hair. Kissing her forehead and hair numerous times, she just held her.

"Kotone," Nene whispered. "I..."

"Shhhh Neesan," Kotone said cuddling closer in her protective arms, which she had missed for so long. It felt amazing to be curled up into these arms again. "Just don't let go this time ok? Niisan, stop being a dork and join us."

Yuu had tears in his eyes and shook his head. "No, I'm the reason we seperated from you, you deserve some time with..." He was cut off as both Nene and Kotone yanked him into the embrace.

"Stupid dork," Kotone muttered fondly. "Just shut up and stay here."

Yuu flushed but obediently backed down, sniffling as he wrapped his own arm around Kotone. "I'm so glad you're back. We thought you were..."

"I almost was," Kotone murmured. "But I travelled with Lopmon and Terriermon for awhile but then something knocked me unconscious. Really hurt too. Next thing I knew, Gumdramon was there and your boyfriend was trapped."

Nene silently listened to this, just holding Kotone and not really listening to her little sister's words. She was here, her little sister was here and that was all that mattered right now. Everything else could come later. She never regretted saving Yuu from DarkKnightmon. She just wished she never had to make a choice. Looking down at both her siblings, she smiled.

 _I have the most amazing little siblings ever_ Nene thought, pride surging through her as she looked at them both. She shifted, looking at Kiriha as he walked over.

"We need to go," Kiriha said. "Nene..."

"No," Nene said her voice choking up, holding her siblings tighter but not enough to cut off their air supply. "Not letting go. I might lose them again."

"Neesan," Yuu murmured but Kotone cut him off.

"Neesan, don't be silly," Kotone said. "You won't lose Niisan ever and I'm here to stay for good this time. Besides," She shrugged. "Niisan's boyfriend needs your help more or he might fall into a coma or something."

"Kotone!" Yuu chided and Kotone pouted.

"What? It's true, look at him!" Kotone gestured to Tagiru who was now being supported by Akari, since he refused to let any males besides Yuu touch him. "He's a psychological mess, gee whiz!"

Nene laughed a little. It was refreshing to see some humour and distraction within the group. "Kotone, behave."

Kotone looked triumphant. "At least, I got ya to smile Neesan. But seriously, I won't disappear."

Nene slowly pulled out of the embrace although grabbed hold of Kotone's hand with her right hand and took Yuu's hand with her left. "We need to go for Taiki-kun."

"And Ryouma," Airu said. "Yuu-kun, where is...?"

Yuu frowned. "He went to put Hideaki away with Koori. He should be back by now though."

Ren bristled. "You left him with Koori? We know the guy, what, five minutes and you left our best friend with that guy?"

"Ren," Airu began to chide but Ren cut her off.

"No, Airu, you're worried about him too," Ren said. "Don't pretend otherwise by scolding me."

"I wasn't," Airu said defensively. "But Ryouma's strong. I'm sure he'll be back any minute." Although her expression was firm, her voice lacked confidence and her eyes were filled with anxiousness.

"I should go after him and check," Yuu said. "Ren's right, I never should have left him alone but I was so worried about getting Tagiru out and making sure Hideaki didn't regain consciousness that..."

"Breathe, Yuu," Nene said softly. "We'll get everyone, I promise. Although Taiki-kun must be well-guarded."

"We'll find him," Akari said firmly. "I don't care what I have to do. Although, Yuu-kun, get Kotone and Tagiru-kun out of here. I don't think they should take part. Things will probably only get worse. Nene, go with them if it makes it easier on you."

Nene blinked. "I don't want to let them go alone, but I don't want to leave you guys defenceless either. I know Kiriha-kun will still be here but..."

Yuu raised his X-Loader, transferring RookChessmon and SuperStarmon over to Akari. "Here, use some of my digimon. I have Damemon, I'll be fine for the time being."

Akari pushed Zenjirou towards Nene. "Yeah! And Zenjirou can go with you guys to make sure you all get home safely and all."

Zenjirou blinked. "I can? But Taiki wanted me to protect you and look out for you."

Akari slapped Zenjirou's shoulder, glowering at him. "I'm not helpless, Zenjirou. Besides, we just need to make sure these guys get home so Tagiru-kun can get some rest and not be triggered by his past memories. Now, go! That's ok with you right Kiriha-san?"

Kiriha smirked. "Well, Taiki has always said not to argue with you when you get in Manager Mode. So yeah I'm fine with it."

Akari flushed. "It's not that! But Taiki would want me to give some sort of lead since he's not here too."

"Can you give us a lead on finding Ryouma too?" Airu asked the older girl.

Akari frowned. "I promise we'll find him too. Do you guys think Koori would hurt him?"

Ren shrugged. "Can't tell. That guy was hard to read, but he kept on staring at Ryouma all weird, almost predator-style and all, like he was gonna eat im or something! Airu was sleeping but I don't like that guy. Can't explain it, just don't."

Kotone frowned. "Neesan, if it's a gut instinct, the kid might be right."

Ren glowered at her. "I'm older than you!"

Kotone grinned. "Can't tell how old you are, shorty so I'm just guessing."

"Kotone," Yuu said pinching his nose. "Behave."

"No," Kotone said grinning. "This is too fun for that!"

"Ren, focus," Airu said. "Please, forget what anyone else says we need to find Ryouma if what your gut instinct says turns out to be right. Ryouma's strong but he'll need us."

Ren nodded. "I know that! Look Akari-san, Airu and I can't leave Ryouma alone with that guy so we're going after him. We both got our partners anyway so we'll be okay."

Akari looked at them both, biting her lip momentarily before nodding. "Alright just be careful, you two. Don't take on anything you can't handle."

"We can handle anything together neh Ren?" Airu said winking at her best friend.

Ren flushed but nodded. "Yeah! Course we can! Now let's get moving already."

Ren and Airu then ran towards where Yuu, Tagiru and Kotone had just come from.

"Damemon, super-evolve!" Yuu said, holding out his X-Loader, it shining brightly as Tsuwamon appeared.

Yuu wrapped his arms around Tagiru, pulling him into his arms before Tsuwamon lifted them. Tagiru cringed a little when Tsuwamon's hand touched him.

"Shhh it's ok," Yuu soothed. "He's just helping us get out."

Tagiru blinked. "No harm?"

Yuu almost flinched at how meek the other's voice was but plastered a smile on his face anyway. "No one will harm you promise."

Tagiru nodded, relaxing a little as Tsuwamon also picked up Zenjirou. Gumdramon jumped into Kotone's arms.

JetMervamon picked up Nene and Kotone.

"Your digimon is awesome, Neesan!" Kotone said. "I mean, Sparrowmon was always awesome but this other one is too!"

Nene giggled. "Her name's Mervamon. We came together by mutual sibling issues." She winked at Yuu who flushed.

Kotone laughed, before hanging on tight to JetMervamon as her and Tsuwamon got them out of there back into the forest. The two digimon placed the humans down on the ground.

"How are we going to get to the real world?" Kotone wondered.

"Got some DigiMemories handy," Tsuwamon said giving them to Yuu. "Shoutmon gave me and Gumdramon them just in case when we were heading to the real world."

Gumdramon looked around for his ones and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah but I got no idea where my ones are."

Tsuwamon snorted. "That doesn't surprise me at all."

"Hey!" Gumdramon protested. "What are you suggesting?"

"What do you think?" Tsuwamon returned cheekily. "You're not exactly the most responsible, only thick-headed."

Gumdramon glowered. "Oi, watch it, ninja-brain."

"Watch what?" Tsuwamon said innocently making to look for something.

Yuu made an amused noise. "Gosh, you two are as bad as Tagiru and I were before."

Tagiru blinked glassily at Yuu. "Bad, very bad. Need to be punished."

The humorous mood died away with those words and Yuu clutched at Tagiru possessively.

"No, never," Yuu promised. "I'll murder anyone who tries to hurt you again, I promise. Besides, you believed in me all this time to come and save you right? Believe in me to help you heal ok?" He touched Tagiru's cheek, flushing a little. "Our love is strong enough for that right?"

Tagiru's eyes watered. "Our...love? Really? You love me?" A lone tear rolled down his cheek.

Yuu brushed it away with his thumb, kissing Tagiru's forehead. "Yeah. I'm sorry it took me this long to realise it. It's going to be okay now."

Tagiru nodded, curling closer. "Yeah." He buried his head in Yuu's chest. "Yeah."


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey everyone! This fic has really come a long way huh? Through the thorns and the roses, this story has been my 'rock' so to speak. I'm glad people are liking it so much and I'd like to apologise to_ _ **Zero Slash One**_ _that my story is not your cup of tea. Like I said to_ _ **Miss Anonymous hp**_ _in a previous chapter, I can't please everyone :D That said, the prompt for this chapter is 'around'. It was loose enough to fit. This chapter has references to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Thanks to_ **Angel's Sins** _for betareading this chapter!_

 **Chapter 13: Aftermath**

The hospital was quiet with the occasional chatters from nearby doctors and nurses before it faded down the halls. The sky was painted black, leaving only the white moon to stand out in all of its glory; its light luminous and faint, but still there.

Most of the others were asleep in their rooms; however, Tagiru lay awake on his bed, staring out the window into the night sky.

It hurt. His touches had hurt more than he had imagined. Why did this happen? He couldn't feel anything. Neither the tubes nor the presence of his precious person clicked in his dull mind. Reality became nothing more than a hazy dream...

"Tagiru?"

Tagiru blinked, trying to focus. "Is it cold outside?" His voice was raspy. It hurt. It hurt to talk; right now it even hurt to breathe.

"A little bit," Yuu's voice murmured. "Are you cold?"

Tagiru looked alarmed at the notion. "Don't...don't feel anything."

A pair of warm arms wrapped around his body but he felt cold all of a sudden. Tagiru's breaths came out short and fast as he tried to calm himself down by squeezing his eyes shut; his chest suddenly felt tighter.

He tried hard not to move away from Yuu's touch, but a small whimper escaped his lips and he closed his eyes even tighter, willing the painful, vivid memories to go away. Touches, an intrusion being forced inside him. Tears welled up in his eyes. It needed to stop; it needed to go away.

 _It isn't cold,_ he thought to reassure himself. _It isn't cold._

Yuu pulled his hands away and looked at him. "I'm sorry," Yuu said, a strange emotion in his eyes.

Tagiru looked into them, trying to pick it up. Was it shame? Guilt? Or was it pain? He couldn't tell. He shied away from the other. Was he hurting Yuu too? Hideaki…Hideaki kept saying that he had broken Yuu's heart, that everything that had happened was his fault.

"Loving me hurts you," Tagiru whispered. His voice was quiet and strangely clear; and it tore Yuu up.

"That's not true," Yuu said, shaking his head. " _I_ hurt _you_ , Tagiru. By not being there."

Tagiru looked almost puzzled yet dazed. "Thief. Thieves are there to steal. His hands stole me."

Yuu's hands weren't like his, were they? Tagiru reached out almost shyly, grabbing onto the blond's one. They were warm. Not cold. Not cold at all. They were almost too warm. How could one person's hands be so cold whilst the other's be so warm?

Tagiru started to tremble but his gaze was strangely fixated on the wall across from him; his eyes were distant, blank, and it frightened – No, _terrified_ Yuu.

"Tagiru," Yuu said, standing up. "Tagiru, are you – "

Yuu reached out to him and wrapped his arms around Tagiru's shaking body. Tagiru squirmed, but the blond held on tightly.

"Stop, don't," Tagiru said, finally managing to push himself away from Yuu, beginning to twist the bed sheet around his fingers, rubbing his hands against the cloth. "Don't touch me…I'm filthy. He was inside of me. I can still feel him. His touch won't go away…look." He rolled up his sleeves. "Can't you see them?" He began to bite and scratch at his skin, tears falling down his cheeks. "No matter what I do…"

"Tagiru, stop!" Yuu said, pulling Tagiru's hands away. Thin trails of blood ran down Tagiru's arms.

Tagiru began screaming, thrashing around and pushing Yuu away. He fell off the hospital bed and curled into the corner, trembling as he curled into a ball.

"Stay away!" Tagiru pleaded. "Please…"

Yuu winced. He was losing Tagiru – No, never. His expression became firm yet remained gentle as he slowly stepped closer to Tagiru. The doctors rushed inside.

At the sudden sound of approaching footsteps, Tagiru began screaming again, his breathing becoming uneven and he began beating his fists against the wall.

The doctor pulled out a needle but Yuu shook his head.

"Don't, please," Yuu said; his voice was unexpectedly weak. "I can get through to him somehow."

"He's reliving the trauma," the doctor said, managing to grab a hold of the thrashing Tagiru and injecting the needle into him.

Tagiru's movements instantly ceased and his eyes closed.

"What he did hurts," Yuu said quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." The blond was mumbling to himself as he reached over before the doctor could pulling the unconscious Tagiru into his arms. Holding him there felt right, but Tagiru didn't want to be held anymore. Hideaki had destroyed him.

"Amano-san?" Dr. Tomoko said kindly. "I know you don't want to but Akaishi-kun needs rest. Reliving those flashbacks hasn't been kind to him, so if you don't mind, please leave for now. He'll be alright."

Yuu's eyes watered. "Y-Yeah, I understand. P-please…" His voice choked up. "P-Please call me if anything else is needed."

Dr. Tomoko grasped his shoulder. "I promise. Leave it to us."

Yuu nodded, leaving the hospital room.

He sat in his car, tears washing his face. He closed his eyes, wanting them to stop. Crying wouldn't do anything. Crying wouldn't help Tagiru but he couldn't help it. Was there anything he could do? He didn't even know if he could drive right now. He just didn't know anything anymore. He grabbed his cell and dialed the first person he could think of: his sister.

It only took a few rings for Nene to answer, considering she was in Japan for vacation anyway.

"Yuu?" Nene said sleepily.

Yuu winced. He hadn't even realised how late it was. It was past midnight. "S-Sorry, Neesan," Yuu said. "I just...I needed someone to talk to. I don't think I can drive right now."

There was a pause on the other end. "Are you at the hospital?"

"Yeah, where else would I be?" Yuu's voice sounded slightly bitter as he said that. If he hadn't failed Tagiru, if he hadn't been such an idiot, this would have never happened. He shouldn't have let Tagiru alone that night.

"I'll be right there, okay?" Nene said. "Yuu, don't blame yourself. I know you feel like if we hadn't trusted Hideaki, this wouldn't have happened but please don't."

Yuu managed a weak smile. His sister seemed to always know what he was thinking whether he told her or not. "I'll try not to, Neesan. But that's easier said than done sometimes."

"I know," Nene said. "Better than anyone, believe me."

True to her word, Nene got there immediately with her personal assistant dropping her off.

Nene pulled Yuu into an embrace seeing him sitting on the footpath. The sky seemed to be darker with barely visible gray clouds roaming slowly about.

Yuu, in the warm arms of his sister, broke down completely. Everything just came out and he didn't know how to stop the never ending tears that continued to fall.

"Shhh..." Nene hummed soothingly.

"T-Tagiru...he's so scared, all the time," Yuu choked out. "No matter what I do, he doesn't seem to hear me. I failed him, Neesan. What kind of boyfriend am I? I could protect Airu when she was in danger, I could protect Tagiru from ghosts that didn't even exist! But now...I wasn't there to protect him. I can protect him from evil demons, but not our own, can I? I really am useless. I was working with DarkKnightmon and destroying innocent lives!" His voice trembled as he shook, remembering the bodies of the digimon. Nene gripped him tighter while rubbing his back comfortingly. Yuu took in a shaky breath: "And now Tagiru's not even really there. Not the Tagiru who could get on everyone's nerves or make anyone laugh without trying. He's a shell of the person he once was. He waited for me, Neesan. He would call out for me; he was desperate for me to save him but I took so long that…that..."

"That's enough, Yuu." Nene's voice was stern yet soft. "You didn't fail anyone. You can't predict the future Yuu nor can you read people's minds. You didn't know that that creep held those kinds of feelings for Tagiru-kun. He always seemed harmless after all." She wiped away Yuu's tears with her thumb. "Just remember one thing, Yuu. Tagiru-kun still loves you. His heart will remember that if you keep trying. He's just been hurt. The brother I know doesn't give up and break down like this. Look at your X-Loader, Yuu."

"Neesan..." Yuu sniffled, trying to compose himself. "My X-Loader..."

"Your X-Loader is the colour of determination," Nene said. "My little brother never loses heart, does he?" She kissed her brother's forehead. "Am I wrong?"

Yuu smiled weakly. Nene always knew the right things to say. She was right. He shouldn't be here crying his eyes out because of one mistake. Mistakes happened and this was more than a small mistake; but at the same time, it wouldn't help Tagiru if he just sat here blaming himself. Nothing had changed between the two of them.

Yuu still loved the boy with all his heart after all. There was no way he'd let go, no matter how much Tagiru pushed him away; he'd hold on tight and wrap his hands around the bastard's throat once he got close enough. No one hurt Tagiru and ran free.

"Thanks, Neesan," Yuu said. "I'm glad you came. I needed that."

Nene smiled. "Well, you do tend to trip over your feet a lot."

Yuu flushed. "Neesan!"

Nene hummed innocently, giving a sweet smile. "Yes?"

Yuu pouted. "Not nice." He pretended to sulk a little, although his heart had considerably lightened up.

Nene ruffled his hair. "Sorry. But it's an older sister's duty."

Yuu laughed, resting his head in Nene's shoulder for a few seconds before pulling away. "Can you drive us home?"

Nene nodded. "Of course. Are you going to be alright?"

Yuu sighed a little. "I'm trying, Neesan. I know I have to be strong. Tagiru was really strong back there after all, so I have to be strong enough to protect him. I have to keep him safe."

Nene smiled. "He'll be alright. You two should keep out of the action until Tagiru-kun recovers."

Yuu frowned. "But, Taiki-san…"

Nene laughed. "Akari-kun isn't going to rest until Taiki-kun is safe and sound, back with her. I know you want to help everyone in the fight, but you have your own battle to fight."

Yuu exhaled through his nose before nodding. "Alright, but if there's anything Damemon and I can do Neesan, you have to call me." He paused for a moment. "Also, Kotone should stay out of the fight too."

Nene smiled. "You don't have to tell me twice. Kotone won't be involved in any further battles. Her partners are missing anyway so she's better off staying here in the real world where it's safer. The ADO hasn't tracked our movements yet in the real world after all."

Yuu stared. "Neesan, what are you talking about?"

Nene shook her head. "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Yuu raised an eyebrow but let it drop. "Okay, but tell me later, okay? I don't wanna argue right now." Exhaustion waved over him and he felt like just wanting to sleep.

Nene tousled his hair. "Alright." She took Yuu's hand and the two siblings headed towards the parked car.

Darkness. That was what Hideaki opened his eyes to. His head hurt; no, not just his head, his whole body hurt. He noticed he was in a rather small room - if it could even be called a room. It was more like a closet to be exact. He stared and realized it was the cupboard of the same room he had kept Tagiru in.

Tagiru…

His eyes flashed as he recalled what had happened. Yuu…Yuu had come and taken his Tagiru away. The thought of that made him bristle in rage and his fists shook, knuckles turning white.

 _How dare he? How dare he take my precious person away from me? I won't forgive it._

Hideaki bristled. Yuu kept getting in the way. He had to get Tagiru back. Tagiru was his. He had become his that day. He licked his lips as his thoughts went back to the first night he had taken him. The ecstasy that filled in his eyes made his heart hammer like crazy. Tagiru looked so beautiful. His, only his.

 _Oh, Tagiru, why don't you understand? I love you more than he ever can._

Yuu was only keeping Tagiru away. There needed to be a way. There needed to be a way to keep Yuu out of the way permanently. He needed to stop Yuu from brainwashing Tagiru. Suddenly, he stopped. He hated seeing the tears in Tagiru's eyes though; but it would teach his precious one to learn to enjoy his touch and not let old feelings get in the way. His body was heating up just thinking of the other. He needed him back. He needed him back now.

Hideaki banged his fist on the wall, imagining it was Yuu instead. Shall he and Tagiru bathe in Yuu's blood together?

A twisted grin curved upward on his lips, a cackle leaving his mouth. Yes, always his. Always and forever his.


End file.
